CALIFORNIA STATE
POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA
Bronco Sports News
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2003
Contact: Paul Helms
(909) 869-2812
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
MEDIA NOTES
2003 CPP Record: 17-11. 2003 CCAA Record: 12-8
Pacific Region
Ranking: 10
Broncos Prepare For A Final Push
For Playoffs: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s volleyball team, which swept its
final two home games last weekend in impressive fashion, will make its final
argument for selection to the NCAA Division II playoffs this week with a pair
of contests on the road. The Broncos will be at Cal State L.A. on Friday and
Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday. Cal Poly Pomona will need to win both
matches and then hope for some help in order to reach the NCAA playoffs for the
first time since 1997. A win over Cal State L.A. should be enough to vault the
Broncos, who were 10th in the Pacific Region rankings entering last
week’s competition, past the No. 7 Golden Eagles, especially if Cal State L.A.
were to also lose to either Cal State Bakersfield or Cal State San Bernardino.
A win Friday would give the Broncos a season sweep over Cal State L.A. and a
second Golden Eagle loss this week would most likely result in the Golden
Eagles and Broncos being tied for fourth in the conference. Not so clear is
what the Broncos need to jump past Hawaii Pacific, which is sixth in the
region, but figures to end the season on a five-match losing streak. The NCAA
pairings will be announced on Sunday.
About Last Week: The Broncos completed their home
schedule with a pair of impressive victories. Cal
Poly Pomona started the week at Cal
State San Bernardino, where the Coyotes avenged a loss earlier in the season
with a 31-29, 30-20, 30-21 win over the Broncos. Cal
Poly Pomona had prevailed in the first meeting between the two schools in
Darlene May Gym on Oct. 1. Allison Anderson (So., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) had a
team-high 13 kills, 10 digs and two blocks, while Kellie Francis (So., Chino,
Don Lugo HS) had 11 kills and two digs and Kimberly Van Beek
(Sr., Artesia, Whitney HS) added 11 kills. The Broncos then ended a four-match
losing streak with a 30-26, 30-21, 30-24 win over San
Francisco State
Friday in Darlene May Gym. Anderson
had 20 kills and two blocks, Van Beek had 16 kills
and four blocks and Lindsay Fischer (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) had 14 kills
and two blocks. Emily Kennedy (So., Upland,
Upland HS) had 53 assists, one ace, eight digs and one
block. Emma Kariotis (Fr., Long
Beach, Long Beach Poly HS) had five kills and one
block, while Casey Riedel (Fr., Saugus,
Saugus HS) added four kills, six digs, one ace and one block. The Broncos then
turned in one of their best matches of the year when they overpowered Sonoma
State, 30-21, 30-26, 30-13
Saturday. Seniors Rachel Hastert (Sr., Bellflower,
Long Beach CC), Van Beek and
Fischer were honored in pregame ceremonies. Van Beek had 14 kills and a hitting percentage of .591 while
leading the Broncos to the win. Fischer also had a strong match with 11 kills
and 11 digs. Anderson had 13 kills
and two blocks, while Kennedy had 36 assists, three digs and one block.
Scouting The Opposition: The
Broncos are 25-27 all-time against Cal State L.A. and posted a 30-21, 30-23,
24-30, 30-27 win over the Golden Eagles on Oct. 9 in Darlene May Gym. Kellie
Francis (So., Chino, Don Lugo HS) led a balanced Cal Poly Pomona attack with 14
kills. Allison Anderson (So., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) and Lindsay Fischer (Sr.,
Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) had 13 kills each and
Kimberly Van Beek (Sr., Artesia, Whitney HS) had 10
kills. Lizelle Jackson had 15 kills to lead the
Golden Eagles. Cal Poly Pomona is 45-2 all-time against Cal State Dominguez
Hills, including a 30-19, 30-27, 30-26 win on Oct. 10
in Darlene May Gym. Francis had 12 kills and Van Beek
added 11 to lead the Broncos. April Udell had nine
kills to lead the Toros.
Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona
received votes for three consecutive weeks, but did not receive votes in
the most recent national rankings released by the AVCA on Tuesday. UC San Diego
is still the No. 1 team in the nation, while Cal State San Bernardino is sixth.
With BYU-Hawaii checking in at second and Western Washington
at third, the Pacific Region has the top three and four of the top six teams in
the country.
How About That Schedule: Cal Poly Pomona is once
again facing a very challenging schedule in 2003. When the Broncos defeated Cal
State San Bernardino on Oct. 1, it marked the second time in five days that Cal
Poly Pomona hosted the No. 1 team in the country. UC San Diego was also ranked
No. 1 on Sept. 26 when the Tritons knocked off the Broncos in four games. The
Broncos faced three teams – Chaminade (HI), Findlay
(Ohio) and Florida
Southern – in the Cal Poly Pomona Invitational that received votes in the AVCA preseason
National Top 25. Findlay received
votes in the latest national poll.
On The Bench: Rosie Wegrich,
who holds the Cal Poly Pomona standard for most wins by a head coach, is in her
12th year with the program. Wegrich has
compiled a 547-407-10 record in 28 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 218-148
mark (.596) at Cal Poly Pomona and picked up her 200th win as Bronco
head coach last season 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 return four starters and
10 players overall from their 2002 squad, including first-team All-CCAA outside
hitter Lindsay Fischer (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) and second-team All-CCAA
middle blocker Kimberly Van Beek (Sr., Artesia,
Whitney HS). Fischer led the Broncos with 450 kills and 368 digs last season
and is one of the top outside hitters in the region again this season. Fischer
earned honorable mention All-Pacific Region recognition last season. The 450
kills were the sixth-highest single-season total in Cal Poly Pomona history.
Van Beek was third on the team in kills with 277,
second in blocks with 95 and led the team in service aces with 44 despite
missing the final five matches of the season with a broken finger suffered in
practice. Emily Kennedy (Fr., Upland,
Upland HS) is back for her second year after a sensational freshman season. She
recorded 1,251 assists last season, which is seventh on Cal Poly Pomona’s
all-time single-season list. Allison Anderson (So., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) returns for her second season and has been outstanding
for the Broncos. She appeared in all 31 matches last year and was fifth on the
team in kills with 203 and third in blocks with 91. Two other players who
missed either all or most of the 2002 season, Elizabeth Defoort
(So., Glendora, Citrus College) and Kellie Francis (So., Chino, Don Lugo HS)
are also back for the Broncos. Defoort suffered a
season-ending knee injury in the Broncos’ second match of the season, while
Francis was a redshirt in 2002 and did not play at
all.
Look Who’s New: Cal Poly
Pomona welcomes a strong recruiting class that is expected to make major
contributions this season for the Broncos. Four freshmen – Lindsay Aarestad (Fr., Escondido, San Pasqual
HS), Emmanuella Kariotis
(Fr., Long Beach, Long Beach Poly HS), Casey Riedel (Fr., Saugus, Saugus HS)
and Mallory Manzo (Fr., Fontana, Etiwanda HS) – have
joined the squad, while a pair of juniors – Christina Gordon (Jr., Moreno
Valley, Riverside CC) and Megan Meenan (Jr., Hermosa
Beach, El Camino College) – are also new to the program. Riedel is sixth on the
team in kills with 107, while Meenan is seventh in
service aces. Kariotis got her first start for Cal
Poly Pomona in the Oct. 10 match against Cal State Dominguez Hills and started
again against Cal State Stanislaus on Oct. 24. Riedel has started 13 matches
for the Broncos, most recently against Sonoma
State on Saturday.
An Impressive Second Season: Allison Anderson (So.,
Chino Hills, Ayala HS) has been the Broncos’ top
offensive threat in 2003. Anderson
opened the season with a strong showing in the Cal Poly Pomona Invitational.
She recorded 58 kills and 14 blocks in the Broncos’ first four matches and was
named the tournament Co-Most Valuable Player. Anderson
followed that up with 71 kills and 23 blocks in the Western Oregon Tournament. She
set a new career high when she recorded 27 kills in a five-game loss to
Northwest Nazarene. She also had a career high in block assists in the tourney,
posting 11 in a four-game loss to Western Oregon. Anderson
had 19 kills in the Broncos’ five-game win over No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino
on Oct. 1. She recorded 24 kills, including the match-winner, in a five-game
victory at Chico State
on Oct. 18 and she had 21 kills in a four-game match against Cal State
Bakersfield on Oct. 25. She had 20 kills in the Broncos’ three-game sweep over San
Francisco State
last Friday. Anderson’s
single-match high in 2002 was 12 kills. She has reached double figures in kills
in 25 of the Broncos’ first 28 matches after hitting double figures in four matches
all last season.
Leading With Lindsay: Lindsay Fischer (Sr., Alta
Loma, Alta Loma HS), who is coming off one of the best seasons in the program’s
history, is a top candidate for All-Pacific Region honors again this year. In
2002, Fischer became the first Cal Poly Pomona player since 1998 to earn
All-Pacific Region recognition. She received honorable mention. Fischer
recorded 450 kills and 368 digs last season and led the team in both
categories. Even more important for the Broncos: she stayed healthy. In 2001,
Fischer suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth match of the year and the
Broncos struggled to a 10-20 mark. With Fischer back in 2002, the Broncos went
20-11. With 283 kills so far this season, Fischer has moved into third place on
Cal Poly Pomona’s career kill list with a total of 1,242. Cathy Bell is the
all-time leader with 1,556 and Ellen Migasi is second
with 1,336.
A Hit On And Off The Court: One of Cal Poly Pomona’s
top players, Kimberly Van Beek (Sr., Artesia, Whitney
HS), is also one of the Broncos’ top students. Van Beek
earned second-team All-CCAA honors last season despite missing the final five
matches with a broken finger. She led the team in service aces with 44 and was
third in kills (277) and second in blocks (95). Van Beek
has played well again this season, recording 317 kills and 76 blocks in the
Broncos’ first 28 matches. She is second on the team in both categories. She
recorded a career-high 24 kills in the Broncos’ four-game win over UC Davis on
Sept. 13 and had 41 kills in Cal Poly Pomona’s wins over Chico
State and the Aggies.
She also posted 20 kills in the Broncos’ five-game win at Chico
State on Oct. 18 and she had a
team-high 18 kills in the Broncos’ five-game loss at Cal State Bakersfield on
Sept. 19. She is also high in several Cal Poly Pomona career offensive
categories. She is fourth in kills with 1,077, fourth in service aces with 136 and
sixth in blocks with 339. Van Beek excels in the
classroom as well. The psychology major earned Verizon
Academic All-America District VIII honors last season and carries a sparkling
3.8 grade point average. She is a member of the university’s President’s Honor
List and the Dean’s List.
Thanks For The Assist: Emily
Kennedy (So., Upland, Upland HS) is
picking up where she left off last season when she put together one of the best
freshman seasons in Cal Poly Pomona history. Kennedy, who recorded 1,251 assists
last season, has 1,283 in the Broncos’ 28 matches this season. Her total this
season is already the fourth-best single-season total in the program’s history.
She set a new career high with 70 assists against Northwest Nazarene in the
Western Oregon Tournament. Kennedy had 210 assists in the four matches in Oregon.
Kennedy also had 62 assists in the Broncos’ five-game win at Chico
State on Oct. 18. She also has 43
blocks this season, which is fourth on the team and she leads the squad with 35
service aces.
The Leaders Of The Stats: Allison Anderson (So., Chino Hills, Ayala
HS) leads the Broncos in kills with 410, while Kimberly Van Beek
(Sr., Artesia, Whitney HS) is second with 317 and Lindsay Fischer (Sr., Alta
Loma, Alta Loma HS) is third with 283. Anderson
also leads in blocks with 106, while Van Beek has 76
and Fischer has 55. Emily Kennedy (So., Upland,
Upland HS) leads the team with 1,283 assists and 35
service aces. Van Beek
has 32 aces and Anderson has 26.
Fischer leads the Broncos in digs with 263, while Breezie
Jordan (So., Ventura, Buena HS) has 212.
CAL
POLY POMONA
Women’s Volleyball
CPP Schedule & Results
8/29 vs. Florida
Southern! W 3-1
8/29 vs. Chaminade! L
2-3
8/30 vs. Findlay! W 3-0
8/30 vs. Alaska
Fairbanks! W 3-0
9/5 vs. Central
Washington^ W
3-0
9/5 vs. St.
Martin’s^ W
3-0
9/6 vs. Northwest
Nazarene^ L 2-3
9/6 at Western
Oregon^ L
1-3
9/12 vs. Chico
State* W 3-1
9/13 vs. UC Davis* W 3-1
9/19 at CS
Bakersfield* L
1-3
9/20 at CS
Stanislaus* W
3-0
9/26 vs. UC San
Diego* L
1-3
9/27 vs. Grand
Canyon* W
3-1
10/1 vs. CS San
Bernardino* W
3-2
10/3 at Sonoma
State* L 2-3
10/4 at San
Francisco State* W 3-0
10/9 vs. Cal
State L.A.* W 3-1
10/10 vs. CS
Dominguez Hills* W
3-0
10/17 at UC Davis* L 0-3
10/18 at Chico
State* W 3-2
10/24 vs. CS
Stanislaus* W
3-0
10/25 vs. CS
Bakersfield* L
1-3
10/30 at UC San
Diego* L
0-3
10/31 at Grand
Canyon* L
1-3
11/5 at CS San
Bernardino* L
0-3
11/7 vs. San
Francisco State* W 3-0
11/8 vs. Sonoma
State* W 3-0
11/14 at Cal
State L.A.* 7 p.m.
11/15 at
CS Dominguez Hills* 7 p.m.
*Denotes CCAA Game
!= Cal Poly Pomona
Invitational
^= Western Oregon Tournament