CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

MEDIA NOTES

 

2004 CPP Record: 6-5. 2004 CCAA Record: 2-0

 

Broncos Hope To Keep The Momentum In A Busy Week: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s volleyball team, coming off one of the best weekends in the program’s history, will try to keep things rolling this week. The Broncos will host NCAA Division III power La Verne on Tuesday night in Darlene May Gym before heading North to continue California Collegiate Athletic Association play at Chico State on Friday and Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday. The Broncos are one of three teams to get off to 2-0 starts in the CCAA and they did it the hard way, winning at Cal State L.A. and Cal State Bakersfield on back-to-back nights. The Broncos stretched their winning streak over Cal State L.A. to four, which is the longest streak against the Golden Eagles since 1988-90. The win in Bakersfield was the first for Cal Poly Pomona since a tournament in 1991 and the first conference win in Bakersfield since 1987. 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 saw their fortunes swing dramatically in the span of one week thanks to their big wins to open California Collegiate Athletic Association play in Los Angeles and Bakersfield. Cal Poly Pomona entered the week with four losses in five matches, three of them in five-game marathons. But those frustrations were erased when the Broncos beat Cal State L.A., 26-30, 33-31, 30-26, 30-21 on Friday night in the Eagles’ Nest. Christina Gordon (Jr., Moreno Valley, Riverside CC) had a tremendous match for the Broncos, recording a career-high 22 kills and hitting at a sizzling .400 percentage. Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS) added 16 kills and four blocks, while Allison Anderson (Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) recorded 13 kills and six blocks. Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) had 51 assists, three aces and four blocks, while Megan Meenan (Sr., Hermosa Beach, El Camino College) had a team-high five aces. The Broncos had 13 aces in the match, including five from Meenan, three from Kennedy, two each from Kiting Kolar (Fr., La Canada, La Canada HS) and Casey Riedel (So., Saugus, Saugus HS) and one from Breezie Jordan (Jr., Ventura, Buena HS). The Broncos dropped the first game and had to stave off two game points in the second game, both times extending the game thanks to kills from Francis. Another kill by Francis put the Broncos ahead, 32-31, and a kill by Mallory Manzo (Fr., Fontana, Etiwanda HS) gave the Broncos the all-important second-game win. The Broncos rallied from a 25-21 deficit and closed the third game with a 9-1 run and then jumped out to a 21-10 lead in the fourth game. The Broncos then went into Bakersfield and outlasted the Roadrunners, 30-19, 26-30, 30-28, 16-30, 15-13, Saturday night at the Icardo Center. The Broncos rallied from a 22-14 deficit in the third game and from a 10-6 deficit in the fifth game. Anderson had a team-high 16 kills, including kills that accounted for Cal Poly Pomona’s final three points of the match after the score was tied, 12-12. Gordon had 14 kills, including seven in the first game. Kennedy had 53 assists and five blocks, while Kolar had a team-high 18 digs.

 

Anderson Earns 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 Sept. 6-12. Anderson, who earned All-American honorable mention last year, had 29 kills to lead the Broncos to 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. on Friday, 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. This is the first weekly honor of Anderson’s Cal Poly Pomona career. She is 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 8-0 all-time against La Verne, although the programs have not met since the 1990 season. The Leopards are currently ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Division III. La Verne won the Division III national championship in 2001. Cal Poly Pomona is 14-6 all-time against Chico State, including a pair of wins last season. The Broncos won in four games in September in Darlene May Gym and prevailed in five games in October in Chico. Cal Poly Pomona is 11-4 all-time against Cal State Stanislaus and won both matches last season. The Broncos won in three games in Turlock in September and also won in three games in Darlene May Gym in October.

 

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona received votes for the first time this season in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s most recent national Top-25 poll, but did not crack the Top-25. Two members of the California Collegiate Athletic Assocition (UC San Diego in second and Cal State San Bernardino in sixth) were included in the national Top-10, while Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly Pomona received votes, but were not in the top-25. Five Pacific Region teams were included in the top-25 and nine 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.

 

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 555-412-10 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 226-153 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 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 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 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 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 has made an early habit of playing lengthy matches. Of the Broncos’ first 11 contests, seven of them have been decided in five games. Cal Poly Pomona is 4-3 in those matches, including a five-game win over Cal State Bakersfield last Saturday night. Earlier this season, the Broncos endured a program-record five consecutive matches that lasted five games. The old record was four. With seven 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 was 2-0 in five-game matches in Alaska, knocking off Alaska Fairbanks both times the teams met. The Broncos, though, are 1-3 in five-game matches at home, losing to Seattle Pacific, Seattle University and the University of Indianapolis and beating 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: Allison Anderson (Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) and Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS) lead the team in kills with 181. Christina Gordon (Jr., Moreno Valley, Riverside CC) has 120 kills, while Elizabeth Defoort (Jr., Glendora, Citrus College) has 100 kills. Anderson’s hitting percentage of .313 leads the team. Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland, Upland HS) leads with 489 assists, while Jen Bullock (Sr., Anaheim, Eastern New Mexico) has 81. Kennedy leads with 19 aces, while Kiting Kolar (Fr., La Canada, La Canada HS) has 14 and Breezie Jordan (Jr., Ventura, Buena HS) has 13. Kolar leads in digs with 155, while Jordan has 139. Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) has a team-high 50 blocks, including 14 solos. Kathol leads the CCAA in blocks per game with 1.39. Anderson is second on the Broncos with 43 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                                  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                     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