Cal Poly volleyball took down the UC Riverside Highlanders on Thursday, Oct. 7 inside SRC Arena in Riverside, CA.
The Mustangs (6-10, 4-1 Big West) swept the Highlanders (4-11, 0-5 Big West) by scores of 25-14, 25-11 and 25-21. The win moves Cal Poly into fourth place in the Big West, trailing only Hawaii, UCSB and UC Irvine.
In the opening set, the Mustangs jumped out to an early 11-4 lead, but the Highlanders battled back to close the Cal Poly lead to 17-14 late in the set. A service error from UC Riverside opened the door for the Mustangs to end the set on an 8-0 run to secure the 25-14 victory.
In set two, the Mustangs took a commanding 14-5 lead out of the gates. After UC Riverside earned a few points to narrow the Cal Poly lead, a 6-0 Mustang run put the match out of reach, extending the lead to 21-8. Cal Poly won the second set, 25-11, taking a commanding 2-0 lead on the Highlanders.
Set three was much of the same from both squads. A 22-15 Mustang lead was threatened after a 5-0 UC Riverside run, slimming the Cal Poly advantage to 22-20. However, three kills from redshirt senior outside hitter Jamie Stivers closed out the set, securing the match with a 25-21 victory.
Stivers finished the match leading Cal Poly in kills with 15. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Tommi Stockham ended with 12 kills and junior middle blocker Meredith Phillips snagged nine.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Amy Hiatt dominated at the net, blocking six Highlander hits, while redshirt freshman middle blocker Kate Slack tallied five blocks.
Freshman libero Peyton Dueck had 16 digs on the defensive side to go along with junior defensive specialist Lea Ungar’s 13 digs.
In the match, Cal Poly hit .413 compared to UC Riverside’s .137. The Mustangs totaled 50 kills with only seven errors.
The Mustangs continue their road trip on Saturday, Oct. 9 when they visit the UC Davis Aggies at 3 p.m. inside the University Credit Union Center.