CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

MEDIA NOTES

 

2004 CPP Record: 3-1. 2004 CCAA Record: 0-0

 

Broncos Return Home After Successful Alaska Trip: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s volleyball team, coming off a 3-1 performance in Alaska last week to open its 2004 season, will play its first home matches of the season this week. The Broncos will entertain NCAA Division II Pacific Region opponent Seattle Pacific on Wednesday, Sept. 1 in their home opener and will then host the six-team Holiday Inn Select-Diamond Bar/Cal Poly Pomona Invitational beginning on Friday. The tournament will include Cal State L.A., Chaminade, Indianapolis, Seattle University and Western New Mexico. The Broncos will face Indianapolis and Seattle University on Friday and Western New Mexico and Chaminade on Saturday. 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 have 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 opened their 2004 season with four matches at Alaska Fairbanks, including two against the Nanooks in key early-season NCAA Division II Pacific Region contests. Cal Poly Pomona won both matches against Alaska Fairbanks on the way to a 3-1 record on the trip. Both matches against Alaska Fairbanks were five-game thrillers. The Broncos opened their season on Thursday and rallied from an 0-2 deficit to post a 28-30, 27-30, 30-26, 30-26, 15-10 victory. The Broncos trailed early in the fifth game, 6-4, but a 6-0 run gave Cal Poly Pomona control. After Alaska Fairbanks closed to within 12-10, the Broncos ran off the final three points of the match. Allison Anderson (Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) had 22 kills for the Broncos, while Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS) added 20 kills and 17 digs. Breezie Jordan (Jr., Ventura, Buena HS) had a team-high 18 digs, while Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) had 63 assists and a pair of aces. Cal Poly Pomona dropped a four-game match to 2003 NCAA Division II playoff qualifier Findlay (Ohio) on Friday when the Oilers rallied for a 25-30, 30-21, 30-26, 30-23 win. Francis had a career-high 23 kills and 15 digs to lead the Broncos, while Elizabeth Defoort (Jr., Glendora, Citrus College) had 12 kills. Jordan once again led with 18 digs, Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) added seven kills and a team-high five blocks. Cal Poly Pomona bounced back and won both matches on Saturday, including a second straight five-game win over Alaska Fairbanks. The Broncos opened the day with a 30-16, 30-24, 30-16 win over Western State College. Anderson led a balanced attack with nine kills, four blocks and 14 digs, while Francis had eight kills and Christina Gordon (Jr., Moreno Valley, Riverside CC) had seven kills. Jen Bullock (Sr., Anaheim, Eastern New Mexico) had 23 assists and two aces. Jordan had a team-high six aces. The Broncos completed their sweep of Alaska Fairbanks with a 23-30, 33-31, 30-28, 28-30, 15-7 victory Saturday night. Anderson and Francis had 19 kills each, while Defoort added 13 and Gordon contributed 12. Kennedy had 48 assists for the Broncos, while Anderson had 16 digs, Megan Meenan (Sr., Hermosa Beach, El Camino College) had 14 digs and Kiting Kolar (Fr., La Canada, La Canada HS) had 13 digs.

 

Scouting The Opposition: Cal Poly Pomona is 5-2 all-time against Seattle Pacific, which comes into Wednesday’s match with a 1-3 record after four matches in the UC San Diego Tournament. These will be the first meetings between the Broncos and Indianapolis and Seattle University. The Broncos are 1-1 against Western New Mexico and 0-1 against Chaminade. The Broncos lost in five games to Chaminade last season in the Cal Poly Pomona Invitational.

 

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona did not receive any votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s preseason national Top-25 poll. Two members of the California Collegiate Athletic Assocition (UC San Diego in second and Cal State San Bernardino in seventh) were included in the national Top-10, while Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State L.A. received votes, but were not in the top-25. Five Pacific Region teams were included in the top-25 and seven 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 (7th) are included in the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association’s national Top-25 poll. The CCAA flexed its muscles in the first week of competition. UC San Diego went 4-0, while Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State L.A. went 3-1 in a tournament in La Jolla. Cal State Bakersfield was 4-0 in a tourney at Cal State Monterey Bay, including a win over BYU-Hawaii.

 

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 552-408-10 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 223-149 mark (.598) 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 win 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 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 American Volleyball Coaches Association 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. After two seasons, Kennedy is already third on the career assist list with 2,646. She should be one of the top setters in the CCAA once again this season. 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 in preseason practices and Jen Bullock (Sr., Anaheim, Eastern New Mexico) is a 5-9 setter with an impressive volleyball background. 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. Gordon redshirted last season.

 

Taking The Fifth: Cal Poly Pomona was 2-0 in five-game matches in Alaska, knocking off Alaska Fairbanks both times the teams met. The Broncos were 2-3 in five-game matches last season, beat then-No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino and Chico State in five-game contests, 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.

 

The Leaders Of The Stats: Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS) leads the Broncos with 70 kills after the team’s first four matches. Allison Anderson (Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) has 59, while Elizabeth Defoort (Jr., Glendora, Citrus College) has 39. Anderson’s hitting percentage of .319 leads the team. Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) leads with 170 assists, while Jen Bullock (Sr., Anaheim, Eastern New Mexico) has 35. Breezie Jordan (Jr., Ventura, Buena HS) leads with eight service aces, while Francis has seven. Jordan also leads in digs with 52, while Francis has 48 and Kiting Kolar (Fr., La Canada, La Canada HS) has 43. Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) has a team-high 20 blocks, including eight solos. Anderson is second with 13 blocks.

 

 

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                                  3:00 p.m.

9/3       vs. Indianapolis^                                   1:30 p.m.

9/3       vs. Seattle University^               7:30 p.m.

9/4       vs. Western New Mexico^                   1:30 p.m.

9/4       vs. Chaminade^                                    7:30 p.m.

9/10     at Cal State L.A.*                                7:00 p.m.

9/11     at CS Bakersfield*                               7:00 p.m.

9/14     vs. University of La Verne                     7:00 p.m.

9/17     at Chico State*                         7:00 p.m.

9/18     at CS Stanislaus*                                  7:00 p.m.

9/24     vs. Sonoma State*                                7:00 p.m.

9/25     vs. CS Monterey Bay*             7:00 p.m.

10/1     vs. CS San Bernardino*                       7:00 p.m.

10/2     vs. UC San Diego*                               7:00 p.m.

10/6     at CS Dominguez Hills*                        7:00 p.m.

10/15   at CS Monterey Bay*                           7:00 p.m.

10/16   at Sonoma State*                                 7:00 p.m.

10/22   vs. CS Bakersfield*                              7:00 p.m.

10/23   vs. Cal State L.A.*                               7:00 p.m.

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