CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2003

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

 

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

MEDIA NOTES

 

2003 CPP Record: 11-6. 2003 CCAA Record: 6-3

 

Broncos Prepare For Yet Another Big CCAA Showdown: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s volleyball team, which is coming off a 2-1 week that included a five-game victory over then-No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino, faces another key California Collegiate Athletic Association contest this week when the Broncos entertain Cal State L.A. on Thursday night in Darlene May Gym. The Broncos will also host a vastly improved Cal State Dominguez Hills squad on Friday night to conclude the first half of conference competition. Cal Poly Pomona enters the week with a 6-3 conference mark that places the Broncos fourth. Cal State L.A. is third with a 7-1 mark and is just one-half game behind conference leaders UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino. The Broncos are hoping to build upon a successful 2002 season that saw them compile a 20-11 record and achieve a 20-win season for the first time since 1997.

 

About Last Week: The Broncos recorded one of their biggest wins in several years when they knocked off No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino last Wednesday night in Darlene May Gym. Cal Poly Pomona beat the Coyotes for the first time since Nov. 15, 1997 and snapped a 10-game losing streak to Cal State San Bernardino. The Broncos outlasted the Coyotes, 26-30, 30-28, 30-20, 17-30, 15-11. Allison Anderson (So., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) led the Broncos with 19 kills, including nine in the second game when the Broncos climbed back into the match. Kellie Francis (So., Chino, Don Lugo HS) added 14 kills and five blocks and scored the final three points of the match for the Broncos. She had eight kills in the third game. Kimberly Van Beek (Sr., Artesia, Whitney HS) added 12 kills and three blocks, while Lindsay Fischer (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) had 11 kills and 11 digs. Emily Kennedy (So., Upland, Upland HS) added 57 assists, while Breezie Jordan (So., Ventura, Buena HS) had a team-high 19 digs. The Broncos then had to turn right around and play at Sonoma State on Friday and the Seawolves prevailed, 30-26, 22-30, 30-24, 13-30, 15-11. Francis tied a career high with 19 kills and two blocks, while Anderson added 18 kills, two service aces and four blocks. Fischer added 15 kills and 19 digs. Jordan had a career-high 26 digs, while Rachel Hastert (Sr., Bellflower, Long Beach CC) had 16 digs and Meenan added 15 digs. Kennedy had eight kills to go along with 55 assists. Elizabeth Defoort (So., Glendora, Citrus College) had seven kills and one block. Cal Poly Pomona finished the week with a 30-22, 30-18, 30-24 win over San Francisco State. Francis led the way with 13 kills, while Anderson had 10 kills and one block. Van Beek had three kills and a team-high five blocks, including four solos. Jordan had a team-high 13 digs.

 

Francis Earns CCAA Player Of The Week Honors: Kellie Francis (So., Chino, Don Lugo HS) was named the Molten CCAA Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 29 – Oct. 5. Francis led the Broncos to a 2-1 week that included a victory over No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino. Francis had 14 kills, five blocks and two digs against the Coyotes and then tied a career high with 19 kills against Sonoma State on Friday. Francis completed the week with 13 kills in a three-game sweep at San Francisco State.

 

Scouting The Opposition: The Broncos are 24-27 all-time against Cal State L.A. and the two teams split their matches last season. The Golden Eagles won in three games in Los Angeles on Oct. 12 and the Broncos won in five games over the playoff-bound Golden Eagles on Nov. 15. The win was a milestone victory for Cal Poly Pomona Head Coach Rosie Wegrich, who picked up her 200th win as the Bronco head coach. Cal Poly Pomona is 44-2 all-time against Cal State Dominguez Hills and posted a pair of three-game sweeps last season. The Broncos have won the last 14 meetings between the two teams. Cal State Dominguez Hills last won in the 1995 season.

 

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona did not receive any votes in the most recent national rankings released by the AVCA. UC San Diego, taking advantage of the Broncos’ win over Cal State San Bernardino, has reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the nation. Cal State San Bernardino slipped to third. Four of the top six teams in the country are from the Pacific Region – in addition to UC San Diego and Cal State San Bernardino, Western Washington is fourth and BYU-Hawaii is sixth. A fifth region team, Hawaii Pacific, is 14th.

 

How About That Schedule: Cal Poly Pomona will once again face 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. Three CCAA programs are currently either in the Top 25 or receiving votes. UC San Diego (1) and Cal State San Bernardino (3) remain in the top five. Cal State L.A. received votes. The Broncos will face each CCAA squad twice this season. Cal Poly Pomona has already played – and beaten – Findlay of Ohio, which received votes in the latest 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 541-402-10 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 212-143 mark (.597) 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 expected to be 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 in the Broncos’ first 17 matches. 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 81, while Meenan is tied for seventh in service aces.

 

An Impressive Beginning: Allison Anderson (So., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) is off to a powerful start in 2003. Anderson opened the season with a strong showing in the Cal Poly Pomona Invitational. Anderson 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 Cal State San Bernardino on Oct. 1. Anderson’s single-match high in 2002 was 12 kills. She has reached double figures in kills in 15 of the Broncos’ first 17 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 164 kills so far this season, Fischer has moved into third place on Cal Poly Pomona’s career kill list with a total of 1,123. 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 started strongly this season, recording 187 kills and 45 blocks in the Broncos’ first 17 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 had a team-high 18 kills in the Broncos’ five-game loss at Cal State Bakersfield on Sept. 19. 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, already has 802 in the Broncos’ first 17 matches this season. 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. She also has 25 block assists this season, which is tied for fifth on the team and she leads the squad with 26 service aces.

 

The Leaders Of The Stats: Allison Anderson (So., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) leads the Broncos in kills with 251, while Kimberly Van Beek (Sr., Artesia, Whitney HS) is second with 187 and Lindsay Fischer (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) is third with 164. Anderson also leads in blocks with 74, while Van Beek has 45 and Fischer has 32. Emily Kennedy (So., Upland, Upland HS) leads the team with 802 assists and 26 service aces.  Anderson has 21 aces, while Van Beek has 16 aces. Breezie Jordan (So., Ventura, Buena HS) leads the Broncos in digs with 162, while Fischer has 160.

 

 

 

 

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.*                               7 p.m.

10/10   vs. CS Dominguez Hills*                       7 p.m.

10/17   at UC Davis*                                       7 p.m.

10/18   at Chico State*                         7 p.m.

10/24   vs. CS Stanislaus*                                7 p.m.

10/25   vs. CS Bakersfield*                              7 p.m.

10/30   at UC San Diego*                                7 p.m.

10/31   at Grand Canyon*                                7 p.m.

11/5     at CS San Bernardino*             7 p.m.

11/7     vs. San Francisco State*                       7 p.m.

11/8     vs. Sonoma State*                                7 p.m.

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