CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

MEDIA NOTES

 

2004 CPP Record: 16-11. 2004 CCAA Record: 11-6

Pacific Region Ranking: 8 (11-3-04)

 

Broncos Try To Make Final Arguments For A Playoff Bid: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s volleyball team, seeking its first NCAA Division II playoff berth since 1997, will conclude the 2004 regular season with a pair of home matches this week. First, the Broncos will finish up California Collegiate Athletic Association play on Wednesday with a contest against vastly-improved Cal State Dominguez Hills. Then, the Broncos will honor seniors Jen Bullock (Sr., Anaheim, Eastern New Mexico) and Megan Meenan (Sr., Hermosa Beach, El Camino College) prior to the match Friday against former CCAA foe Grand Canyon. The Broncos, who are third in the CCAA, were stunned by the most recent NCAA Division II Pacific Region rankings that had Cal Poly Pomona ranked eighth despite completing season sweeps of No. 5 Cal State L.A. and No. 7 Cal State Bakersfield. The top eight teams will qualify for the playoffs. The final regular-season rankings will be listed on Wednesday and the playoff field will be announced on Sunday. 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 were in tough against No. 2 UC San Diego and No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino and dropped matches against both teams. First, the Broncos lost to UC San Diego, 30-22, 30-26, 30-27, Friday in La Jolla. Allison Anderson (Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) had 10 kills for the Broncos, while Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS) had eight kills and eight digs. Christina Gordon (Jr., Moreno Valley, Riverside CC) had seven kills and three blocks, while Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) had six kills and two blocks. Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) had 32 assists and seven digs. On Saturday, the Broncos started slowly and were unable to rally past Cal State San Bernardino despite extending the Coyotes to four games in a 30-17, 30-19, 30-32, 30-22 loss. Francis had a team-high 18 kills and 14 digs, while Anderson had 11 kills and one block. Kathol had eight kills and four blocks, while Gordon had eight kills. Casey Riedel (So., Saugus, Saugus HS) had three aces and served for eight straight points to help the Broncos win the third game. Elizabeth Defoort (Jr., Glendora, Citrus College) had nine kills, including one that wrapped up the third game for the Broncos. Jen Bullock (Sr., Anaheim, Eastern New Mexico) had 31 assists, while Kennedy had 17 as well as one ace and one solo block. Kiting Kolar (Fr., La Canada, La Canada HS) had a team-high 21 digs.

 

Scouting the Opposition: Cal Poly Pomona is 46-3 all-time against Cal State Dominguez Hills, but was swept by the Toros, 30-25, 30-26, 30-24, on Oct. 6 in Carson. The Broncos had a 14-match winning streak against the Toros, dating back to 1995, snapped. Cal Poly Pomona is 12-9 all-time against Grand Canyon, which was a California Collegiate Athletic Association program until last year. The two teams split contests last year with each team winning on its home court.

 

Rankings: For the second straight week, Cal Poly Pomona received votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Top 25 poll, but did not crack the Top 25. The Broncos also received 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 eight received votes in the poll. In the most recent Pacific Region poll, the Broncos were ranked eighth. UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino are 1-2 in the region, while No. 5 Cal State L.A. and No. 7 Cal State Bakersfield are also in the rankings. 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 were 0-2 against UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino, but posted sweeps over Cal State L.A. and Cal State Bakersfield, teams that are ahead of Cal Poly Pomona in the regional rankings.

 

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.

 

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 565-418-10 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 236-159 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 3,609. 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 27 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 393 kills, while Allison Anderson, a honorable mention All-American in 2003, is second with 364. Christina Gordon (Jr., Moreno Valley, Riverside CC) has 224 kills and Elizabeth Defoort (Jr., Glendora, Citrus College) has 196 kills. Anderson’s hitting percentage of .308 leads the team. Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) leads with 1,012 assists, while Jen Bullock (Sr., Anaheim, Eastern New Mexico) has 181. Kennedy leads with 40 aces, while Kiting Kolar (Fr., La Canada, La Canada HS) has 32. Kolar leads in digs with 332, while Breezie Jordan (Jr., Ventura, Buena HS) has 192. Anderson has a team-high 94 blocks, while Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) has 93.

 

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*                                W, 3-0

10/30   vs. Chico State*                                   W, 3-0

11/5     at UC San Diego*                                L, 0-3

11/6     at CS San Bernardino*                         L, 1-3

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