CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2003

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

 

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

MEDIA NOTES

 

2003 CPP Record: 14-7. 2003 CCAA Record: 9-4

 

Broncos Face Critical Home Matches This Weekend: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s volleyball team, which split a pair of California Collegiate Athletic Association road matches last week, will continue its conference schedule this week with home contests against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday and Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday. The Broncos received votes in the AVCA Top 25 last week for the first time this season, only to fall at UC Davis on Friday in three games. The Broncos, who then beat Chico State in five thrilling games on Saturday, have slipped to fifth place in the CCAA, one-half game behind Cal State L.A. and Cal State Bakersfield. UC San Diego is two games ahead of the Broncos, while Cal State San Bernardino has taken over sole possession of first in the conference and is three games ahead of the Broncos. Cal Poly Pomona only has four home matches remaining this season – the two this weekend and contests against San Francisco State on Nov. 7 and Sonoma State on Nov. 8. 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. Cal Poly Pomona is trying to win 20 games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1992 and 1993.

 

About Last Week: The Broncos got the second half of conference play off to a rocky start when they were swept by UC Davis, 30-28, 30-28, 30-27, last Friday at Davis. Cal Poly Pomona had a five-game winning streak against the Aggies snapped. The Broncos had trouble with their serving, recording only two aces and committing five serving errors. UC Davis, meanwhile, had eight aces and four errors. Kimberly Van Beek (Sr., Artesia, Whitney HS) had 13 kills and five blocks to lead the Broncos, while Allison Anderson (Sr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) added 10 kills and four blocks. Kellie Francis (So., Chino, Don Lugo HS) had 10 kills and two blocks. Cal Poly Pomona played a much better match on Saturday and pulled out an exciting 30-19, 36-38, 30-27, 23-30, 15-13 victory over Chico State. Anderson had 24 kills for the Broncos, including the one that ended the match. She also had six blocks and two service aces. Van Beek had 20 kills, five aces and three blocks, while Lindsay Fischer (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) had 13 kills, 12 digs and two blocks. Francis added 12 kills. Emily Kennedy (So., Upland, Upland HS) had 62 assists to go along with four blocks, three aces and nine digs. Anne Stinchfield (So., San Diego, Mt. Carmel HS) had a team-high 15 digs and two aces, while Megan Meenan (Jr., Hermosa Beach, El Camino College) had 11 digs.

 

Scouting The Opposition: The Broncos are 10-4 all-time against Cal State Stanislaus, including a 30-25, 30-18, 30-15 victory over the Warriors on Sept. 20 in Turlock. Allison Anderson (So., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) had 12 kills and four blocks to lead the way, while Lindsay Fischer (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) had 10 kills and 11 digs. Cal Poly Pomona is 17-32 all-time against Cal State Bakersfield and lost to the Roadrunners, 16-30, 30-28, 36-34, 30-22 in Bakersfield on Sept. 19. Kimberly Van Beek (Sr., Artesia, Whitney HS) had 18 kills and three blocks, while Anderson had 11 kills and four blocks. Jessica Slayton had 21 kills for the Roadrunners, who began this week with a seven-game winning streak. The Broncos and Roadrunners split four matches a year ago and the teams had split their previous eight matches before Cal State Bakersfield’s win earlier this season.

 

Rankings: Cal Poly Pomona received votes for the second consecutive week in the most recent national rankings released by the AVCA on Tuesday. Cal State San Bernardino is the new No. 1 team in the country, followed by UC San Diego, which slipped to second after its loss to Cal State Bakersfield last week. Five of the top 14 teams in the country are from the Pacific Region – in addition to Cal State San Bernardino and UC San Diego, Western Washington is tied for sixth, BYU-Hawaii is eighth and Hawaii Pacific is 14th. Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly Pomona both received votes, but were not included in the Top 25.

 

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. Four CCAA programs are currently either in the Top 25 or receiving votes. Cal State San Bernardino (1) and UC San Diego (2) are the top two teams in the country, while Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Bakersfield received votes. The Broncos will face each CCAA squad twice this season.

 

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 544-403-10 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 215-144 mark (.599) 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 so far 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 84, 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.

 

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. 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 No. 1 Cal State San Bernardino on Oct. 1. She recorded 24 kills, including the game-winner, in a five-game victory at Chico State last Saturday. Anderson’s single-match high in 2002 was 12 kills. She has reached double figures in kills in 18 of the Broncos’ first 21 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 208 kills so far this season, Fischer has moved into third place on Cal Poly Pomona’s career kill list with a total of 1,167. 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 241 kills and 55 blocks in the Broncos’ first 21 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 Saturday 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 1,001, fourth in service aces with 128 and eighth in blocks with 318. 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 996 in the Broncos’ 21 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. Kennedy also had 62 assists in the Broncos’ five-game win at Chico State on Saturday. She also has 33 blocks this season, which is tied for sixth on the team and she leads the squad with 32 service aces.

 

The Leaders Of The Stats: Allison Anderson (So., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) leads the Broncos in kills with 307, while Kimberly Van Beek (Sr., Artesia, Whitney HS) is second with 241 and Lindsay Fischer (Sr., Alta Loma, Alta Loma HS) is third with 208. Anderson also leads in blocks with 89, while Van Beek has 55 and Fischer has 40. Emily Kennedy (So., Upland, Upland HS) leads the team with 996 assists and 32 service aces.  Van Beek has 24 aces and Anderson has 23. Fischer leads the Broncos in digs with 201, while Breezie Jordan (So., Ventura, Buena HS) has 194.

 

 

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*                                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