CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

MEDIA NOTES

 

2004 CPP Record: 14-9. 2004 CCAA Record: 9-4

Pacific Region Ranking: 8 (10-20-04)

 

Broncos Try To Carry Momentum From A Tremendous Week: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s volleyball team, coming off a home sweep of traditional California Collegiate Athletic Association powers, will try to continue that momentum this week in two more home matches. The Broncos will host Cal State Stanislaus on Friday night and Chico State on Saturday night. Cal Poly Pomona is coming off four-game victories over Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State L.A. last weekend that solidified the Broncos’ hold on third place in the CCAA. The Broncos have a 1 ½ game lead over Sonoma State and a two-game edge over Cal State Bakersfield. In the most recent Pacific Region rankings, which came out prior to last weekend’s matches, the Broncos were No. 8, Cal State Bakersfield was No. 7 and Cal State L.A. was No. 4. Eight teams will advance to the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Broncos are trying to build upon two consecutive winning seasons. Cal Poly Pomona concluded its 2003 season with an overall record of 19-11. The Broncos were also 14-8 in the CCAA and finished in sole possession of fourth place. Coupled with a 20-11 record in 2002, the Broncos won 39 matches over the last two seasons, which equals the best two-year win total since the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Those teams also won 39 matches in two years. Cal Poly Pomona came within one victory of recording back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 1992 and 1993 seasons. The Broncos have won 18 or more matches in four of the last five seasons.

 

Last Week: The Broncos posted two big victories over conference rivals Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State L.A. and completed season sweeps over both schools. The Broncos hadn’t swept both Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State L.A. in the same season since 1986. Cal Poly Pomona beat the Roadrunners on Friday night, 30-28, 30-25, 19-30, 30-25. Allison Anderson (Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) had a match-high 19 kills and two blocks for the Broncos, while Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS) had 14 kills and 12 digs. Christina Gordon (Jr., Moreno Valley, Riverside CC) had 11 kills and three blocks and Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) had nine kills, nine blocks and four aces. Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) had 47 assists, 11 digs and two blocks.  Cal Poly Pomona then overcame a slow start and roared back to defeat Cal State L.A., 18-30, 30-25, 30-22, 30-24 on Saturday night. The Broncos closed out the match in fine style, hitting at a .436 percentage in the fourth and final game. Francis had 15 kills and 17 digs, while Elizabeth Defoort (Jr., Glendora, Citrus College) had 15 kills and one block. Anderson had 14 kills and four blocks, while Kathol had 12 kills and eight digs. Kennedy had 47 assists and a team-high five aces.

 

Anderson Earns Second Player of the Week Honors: Allison Anderson (Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) was named the Molten California Collegiate Athletic Association Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 18-24. Anderson, who earned All-America honorable mention last year, had 33 kills to lead the Broncos to home victories over Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State L.A. She had 19 kills on .342 hitting in the win over Cal State Bakersfield and added 14 kills on .400 hitting to go along with four blocks against Cal State L.A. For the week, she averaged 4.13 kills per game on .368 hitting. This is Anderson’s second weekly award. She also earned Player of the Week honors for the week of Sept. 6-12 after she had 29 kills to lead the Broncos to big road wins at Cal State L.A. and Cal State Bakersfield. She averaged 3.22 kills per game and hit at a .290 percentage. She also had 1.44 blocks per game. Against Cal State L.A., Anderson had 13 kills, six blocks, four digs, two assists and a service ace. Anderson then added 16 kills on .361 hitting against Cal State Bakersfield to go along with seven blocks, four digs and two aces. With the score tied at 12-12 in the fifth game, Anderson produced three kills to give the Broncos the 15-13 win in the deciding game. Anderson became the first Bronco to earn CCAA Player of the Week honors since Kellie Francis got the nod last season for the week of Sept. 29 – Oct. 5 after leading the Broncos to a win over then-No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino.

 

Scouting the Opposition: Cal Poly Pomona is 12-4 all-time against Cal State Stanislaus and posted a 30-17, 30-14, 30-23 victory on Sept. 18 in Turlock. Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS) had 17 kills in the match for the Broncos. The Broncos have won three straight matches against the Warriors. Cal Poly Pomona is 15-6 all-time against Chico State and recorded a 30-22, 30-21, 30-23 win over the Wildcats on Sept. 17 in Chico. Francis had 14 kills, while Allison Anderson (Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) had 13 kills. Meghan McKinney had 12 kills and 12 digs for the Wildcats. Cal Poly Pomona has won three straight matches against Chico State.

 

Rankings: For the second straight week, Cal Poly Pomona did not receive any votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Top 25 poll. The Broncos did receive votes for six consecutive weeks earlier in the season, but did not crack the Top 25. Two members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (UC San Diego in second and Cal State San Bernardino in sixth) were included in the national Top-10. Five Pacific Region teams were included in the top-25 and six received votes in the poll. In a preseason poll of CCAA coaches, the Broncos were picked to finish fifth in the conference behind UC San Diego, Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State L.A. and Cal State Bakersfield.

 

How About That Schedule: Cal Poly Pomona will once again face a very challenging schedule in 2004. Cal Poly Pomona will face each California Collegiate Athletic Association team twice in 2004 and UC San Diego (2nd) and Cal State San Bernardino (6th) are included in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association’s national Top-25 poll. The Broncos will be at UC San Diego on Friday, Nov. 5 and at Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, Nov. 6.

 

On The Bench: Rosie Wegrich, who holds the Cal Poly Pomona standard for most wins by a head coach, will begin her 13th season with the program. Wegrich has compiled a 563-416-10 record in 29 years as a head coach and is one of the most successful Division II coaches in the nation. Before coming to Cal Poly Pomona, Wegrich coached at Division I programs at Minnesota and Arizona. She has a 234-157 mark at Cal Poly Pomona and picked up her 200th win as Bronco head coach in a thrilling five-game victory over Cal State L.A. on Nov. 15, 2002. Wegrich also picked up her 500th career win when the Broncos posted a four-game victory over Grand Canyon in the final match of the 2000 season.

 

Look Who’s Back: The Broncos have seven players and four starters returning in 2004. Allison Anderson (Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) led the team in kills last season with 442, which is ninth on the all-time single-season list. She also led the team in blocks with 110. Anderson received All-America honorable mention by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, was named to the 10-player All-Pacific Region first team by the AVCA and received second-team All-CCAA honors. Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS) was fourth on the team in kills with 180 despite missing several matches with injury and should be a major contributor in 2004, while Elizabeth Defoort (Jr., Glendora, Citrus College), fifth on the team in kills with 167, should play a larger role on the team this season. Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) led the team in assists last season with 1,395, which is the second-highest single-season total in the program’s history. Kennedy is currently second on the career assist list with 3,475. The Broncos also have Breezie Jordan (Jr., Ventura, Buena HS), who was second on the team in digs with 241, coming back.

 

Look Who’s New: Cal Poly Pomona welcomes another solid recruiting class that should make major contributions for the Broncos. Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) is 6-foot-2-inches tall and the tallest middle blocker on the team since Karla Tate. Kiting Kolar (Fr., La Canada, La Canada HS) is a 5-6 libero who has been impressive and Jen Bullock (Sr., Anaheim, Eastern New Mexico) is a 5-9 setter with an impressive volleyball background. Stephanie Chen (Fr., Walnut, Walnut HS) is another freshman libero who has been a contributor. The Broncos are also expecting big things from Christina Gordon (Jr., Moreno Valley, Riverside CC), who will see extensive time at an outside hitter position, and Mallory Manzo (Fr., Fontana, Etiwanda HS). Both players redshirted last season.

 

Taking The Fifth: Cal Poly Pomona has made a habit of playing lengthy matches. Of the Broncos’ first 23 contests, eight of them have been decided in five games. Cal Poly Pomona is 5-3 in those matches, including a five-game win over Sonoma State on Sept. 24. The Broncos trailed in the fifth game, 9-6, but rallied and eventually broke a 12-12 tie on a kill by Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) and a block by Kathol and Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland, Upland HS). The match ended on a kill by Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS). Earlier this season, the Broncos endured a program-record five consecutive matches that lasted five games. The old record was four. With eight five-game matches already in the books, the Broncos are closing in on the single-season record of nine set by the 1987, 1991 and 1997 squads. Cal Poly Pomona is 3-0 in five-game matches away from home, going 2-0 against Alaska Fairbanks in Alaska and edging Cal State Bakersfield in Bakersfield. Cal Poly Pomona is 2-3 in five-game matches at home, losing to Seattle Pacific, Seattle University and the University of Indianapolis and beating Sonoma State and Western New Mexico. The Broncos were 2-3 in five-game matches last season, beating then-No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino and Chico State, while losing to Chaminade, Northwest Nazarene and Sonoma State. The Broncos were 2-5 in five-game matches in 2002 and 3-5 in 2001. Cal Poly Pomona was 7-2 in five-game matches in 1997 when the Broncos were 24-8 overall and last qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs.

 

The Leaders Of The Stats: Kellie Francis (Jr., Ontario, Don Lugo HS) leads the Broncos with 344 kills, while Allison Anderson, a honorable mention All-American in 2003, is second with 328. Christina Gordon (Jr., Moreno Valley, Riverside CC) has 199 kills and Elizabeth Defoort (Jr., Glendora, Citrus College) has 175 kills. Anderson’s hitting percentage of .316 leads the team. Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) leads with 923 assists, while Jen Bullock (Sr., Anaheim, Eastern New Mexico) has 120. Kennedy leads with 37 aces, while Kiting Kolar (Fr., La Canada, La Canada HS) has 30. Kolar leads in digs with 285, while Breezie Jordan (Jr., Ventura, Buena HS) has 161. Anderson has a team-high 84 blocks, while Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) has 80.

 

CAL POLY POMONA

Women’s Volleyball

CPP Schedule

 

8/26     at Alaska Fairbanks!                             W, 3-2

8/27     vs. Findlay!                                           L, 1-3

8/28     vs. Western State!                                W, 3-0

8/28     at Alaska Fairbanks!                             W, 3-2

9/1       vs. Seattle Pacific                                  L, 2-3

9/3       vs. Indianapolis^                                   L, 2-3

9/3       vs. Seattle University^                           L, 2-3

9/4       vs. Western New Mexico^                   W, 3-2

9/4       vs. Chaminade^                                    L, 0-3

9/10     at Cal State L.A.*                                W, 3-1

9/11     at CS Bakersfield*                               W, 3-2

9/14     vs. University of La Verne                     W, 3-0

9/17     at Chico State*                                     W, 3-0

9/18     at CS Stanislaus*                                  W, 3-0

9/24     vs. Sonoma State*                                W, 3-2

9/25     vs. CS Monterey Bay*                         W, 3-1

10/1     vs. CS San Bernardino*                       L, 0-3

10/2     vs. UC San Diego*                               L, 0-3

10/6     at CS Dominguez Hills*                        L, 0-3

10/15   at CS Monterey Bay*                           W, 3-0

10/16   at Sonoma State*                                 L, 1-3

10/22   vs. CS Bakersfield*                              W, 3-1

10/23   vs. Cal State L.A.*                               W, 3-1

10/29   vs. CS Stanislaus*                                7:00 p.m.

10/30   vs. Chico State*                                   7:00 p.m.

11/5     at UC San Diego*                                7:00 p.m.

11/6     at CS San Bernardino*                         7:00 p.m.

11/10   vs. CS Dominguez Hills*                       7:00 p.m.

11/12   vs. Grand Canyon*                               7:00 p.m.

 

*Denotes CCAA Game

!= Midnight Sun Invitational, Alaska Fairbanks

^= Holiday Inn-Select Diamond Bar/Cal Poly Pomona Invitational