CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA
Bronco Sports News
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2004
Contact: Paul Helms
(909) 869-2812
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
MEDIA NOTES
2004 CPP Record: 18-11. 2004 CCAA Record: 12-6 (3rd place)
Pacific Region Ranking:
7
Broncos Head To La Jolla
With A Playoff Date Against CS San Bernardino:
The wait is over for Cal Poly
Pomona’s women’s volleyball program. The Broncos will be making their first
postseason appearance since 1997 after narrowly missing out on the playoffs the
last two seasons. The No. 7 Broncos will square off against No. 2 seed Cal State San Bernardino,
the defending regional champions and the sixth-ranked team in the country on
Thursday at 2:30 p.m. The
winner of that match will face the winner of the No. 3 Cal State L.A. – No. 6 Chaminade match on Friday at 5 p.m. The playoff appearance
caps an amazing three-year turnaround for the Broncos, who suffered through an
injury-plagued 10-20 season in 2001. Cal Poly Pomona went 20-11 in 2002 and was
19-11 last year, giving the Broncos 39 wins over the two-year period, which
equals the best two-year total since the 1993-94 seasons. The Broncos overcame
a slow 4-5 start this season and went 14-6 over their next 20 matches to climb
back into the playoff picture. The Broncos have won 18 or more matches in
five of the last six seasons.
Last Week: The Broncos closed out the regular season
in impressive fashion by winning their last two matches against Cal State
Dominguez Hills and Grand Canyon. The Broncos started
the week by avenging an earlier loss against Cal State Dominguez Hills with a 30-23,
24-30, 30-26, 30-21 win on Wednesday. With the victory, Cal Poly Pomona
clinched third place in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. Kellie
Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS) led the Bronco attack with 16 kills and 9 digs.
Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) had 13 kills in just 21
attacks for an impressive .619 hitting percentage. Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland,
Upland HS) had 51 assists and 5 kills for the Broncos. Cal Poly Pomona closed
out their regular season with a non-conference game against former CCAA foe Grand
Canyon last Friday night, 30-21, 30-21, 24-30, 30-21. Allison
Anderson (Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS) had 20 kills and
5 blocks, while Francis had 19 kills and 12 digs. Kennedy had 33 assists and
Jen Bullock (Sr., Anaheim, Eastern New Mexico) had 24 assists. The Broncos
honored Bullock and Megan Meenan (Sr., Hermosa
Beach, El Camino College)
before the match as part of Senior Night.
Scouting the
Opposition: Cal Poly Pomona is
19-15 all-time against Cal State San Bernardino, its first-round opponent on
Thursday. The Coyotes won both matches against the Broncos this season and have
won the last three meetings since Cal Poly Pomona beat them last season in
Darlene May Gym when Cal State San Bernardino was ranked No. 1 in the nation.
In matches this season, Cal State San Bernardino handed the Broncos their first
conference loss after a 6-0 start, 30-19, 30-13, 30-25, on Oct. 1 in Darlene May
Gym. The Coyotes also won the second meeting in San
Bernardino, 30-17, 30-19, 30-32, 30-22 on Nov. 6. Cal
State San Bernardino comes in with a 25-3 record with two losses to UC San
Diego and one to Barry (Fla.).
Head To Head: Cal
Poly Pomona is 4-5 against the
other teams that have qualified for the NCAA Division II Pacific Region
playoffs. The Broncos were 0-2 against No. 1 UC San Diego, 0-2 against No. 2
Cal State San Bernardino, 2-0 against No. 3 Cal State L.A., 0-1 against No. 6 Chaminade and 2-0 against No. 8 Cal State Bakersfield. Five
CCAA teams made the field of eight for the regional. No. 1 UC San Diego is 8-0
against the field; No. 2 Cal State San Bernardino is 6-2; No. 3 Cal State L.A.
is 1-8; No. 4 Central Washington is 0-0, No. 5 Hawaii Pacific is 2-1; No. 6 Chaminade is 2-4; No. 7 Cal Poly Pomona is 4-5 and No. 8
Cal State Bakersfield is 2-6.
How We Got Here:
Cal Poly Pomona qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs by compiling an
18-11 overall record and a 12-6 mark in the California Collegiate Athletic
Association. The Broncos tied for third in the CCAA, which is their best finish
in the conference since it expanded in 1998. Cal Poly Pomona picked up two key
regional victories in the first week of the season at the Alaska Fairbanks Invitational.
The Broncos went 3-1 in the tourney and then returned home for a tough stretch
of matches that their postseason aspirations in early jeopardy. Cal Poly Pomona
lost a regional match to Seattle Pacific in five games on Sept. 1 and then
dropped three of four contests in the Cal Poly Pomona Invitational, falling to Indianapolis
and Seattle University
in five games and to Chaminade in three games. The
Broncos, though, turned their season around in a hurry, opening conference play
with a road sweep of Cal State L.A. and Cal State Bakersfield. Cal Poly Pomona
then dropped four of five matches before once again righting their ship with
wins over Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State L.A. Those wins helped the
Broncos go 6-2 over their final eight matches.
Broncos Return To The
Postseason Party: Cal Poly Pomona will be making its 12th
appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs and its first since 1997. The
Broncos are 4-11 in their previous 11 trips. The Broncos won playoff matches in
1984, ’85, ’91 and ’97 and have never won more than one playoff match in a
season. Cal Poly Pomona will be making its sixth playoff appearance with Head
Coach Rosie Wegrich. In its most recent playoff
appearance, Cal Poly Pomona outlasted Cal State L.A. in five games before losing
to Cal State Bakersfield in three games in the second round of the 1997 NCAA
playoffs. Wegrich also led the University
of Arizona to 12 trips to the NCAA
Division I playoffs in her 15 years with the Wildcats.
Rankings: For
the third straight week, Cal Poly Pomona received votes in the American
Volleyball Coaches Association’s Top 25 poll, but did not crack the Top 25. The
Broncos also received votes for six consecutive weeks earlier in the season,
but did not crack the Top 25. Two members of the California Collegiate Athletic
Association (UC San Diego in second and Cal State San Bernardino in sixth) were
included in the national Top-10. Five Pacific Region playoff teams were
included in the top-25 and seven received votes in the poll. Central Washington is ranked 11th, Hawaii Pacific is ranked 13th and Chaminade is ranked 23rd. The Broncos and Cal
State Bakersfield received votes. 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.
Anderson Earns Second 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 Oct. 18-24. Anderson, who earned All-America
honorable mention last year, had 33 kills to lead the Broncos to home victories
over Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State L.A. She had 19 kills on .342 hitting
in the win over Cal State Bakersfield and added 14 kills on .400 hitting to go
along with four blocks against Cal State L.A. For the week, she averaged 4.13
kills per game on .368 hitting. This is Anderson’s
second weekly award. She also earned Player of the Week honors for the week of
Sept. 6-12 after she had 29 kills to lead the Broncos to big road 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., 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. Anderson
became 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.
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 567-418-10 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 238-159 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 victory 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 AVCA and received
second-team All-CCAA honors last year. Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino, Don Lugo HS)
was fourth on the team in kills with 180 despite missing several matches with
injury and is the team leader in kills in 2004, while Elizabeth Defoort (Jr.,
Glendora, Citrus College), fifth on the team in kills with 167 last year, has played
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. Kennedy is
currently second on the career assist list with 3,609. 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 has made 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. Stephanie Chen (Fr., Walnut, Walnut HS) is another freshman libero
who has been a contributor. The Broncos also received big contributions from
Christina Gordon (Jr., Moreno Valley,
Riverside CC), who will see extensive time at an outside hitter position, and
Mallory Manzo (Fr., Fontana,
Etiwanda HS). Both players redshirted last season.
Taking
The Fifth: Cal Poly Pomona made an early habit of playing lengthy matches. Of the
Broncos’ first 15 contests, eight were decided in five games. Cal Poly Pomona
is 5-3 in those matches, including a five-game win over Sonoma
State on Sept. 24. The Broncos
trailed in the fifth game, 9-6, but rallied and eventually broke a 12-12 tie on
a kill by Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La Salle HS) and a block by
Kathol and Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland,
Upland HS). The match ended on a kill by Kellie Francis (Jr., Chino,
Don Lugo HS). Earlier this season, the Broncos endured a program-record five
consecutive matches that lasted five games. The old record was four. With eight
five-game matches already in the books, the Broncos are one shy of the
single-season record of nine set by the 1987, 1991 and 1997 squads. Cal Poly
Pomona is 3-0 in five-game matches away from home, going 2-0 against Alaska Fairbanks
in Alaska and edging Cal State
Bakersfield in Bakersfield. Cal
Poly Pomona is 2-3 in five-game matches at home, losing to Seattle Pacific, Seattle
University and the University
of Indianapolis and beating Sonoma
State and 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: Kellie Francis (Jr., Ontario,
Don Lugo HS) leads the Broncos with 428 kills, while Allison Anderson, a
honorable mention All-American in 2003, is second with 395. Christina Gordon
(Jr., Moreno Valley,
Riverside CC) has 238 kills and Elizabeth Defoort
(Jr., Glendora, Citrus
College) has 213 kills. Anderson’s
hitting percentage of .306 leads the team. Emily Kennedy (Jr., Upland,
Upland HS) leads with 1,096 assists, while Jen Bullock
(Sr., Anaheim, Eastern
New Mexico) has 205. Kennedy leads with 42 aces, while Kiting
Kolar (Fr., La Canada,
La Canada HS) has 35. Kolar leads in digs with 360,
while Francis has 227 and Breezie Jordan (Jr., Ventura,
Buena HS) has 192. Anderson
has a team-high 104 blocks, while Antoinette Kathol (Fr., Sierra Madre, La
Salle HS) has 102.
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 W, 3-0
9/17 at Chico
State* W,
3-0
9/18 at CS
Stanislaus* W,
3-0
9/24 vs. Sonoma
State* W, 3-2
9/25 vs. CS Monterey
Bay* W, 3-1
10/1 vs. CS San
Bernardino* L, 0-3
10/2 vs. UC San
Diego* L,
0-3
10/6 at CS
Dominguez Hills* L,
0-3
10/15 at CS Monterey
Bay* W, 3-0
10/16 at Sonoma
State* L, 1-3
10/22 vs. CS
Bakersfield* W,
3-1
10/23 vs. Cal
State L.A.* W, 3-1
10/29 vs. CS
Stanislaus* W,
3-0
10/30 vs. Chico
State* W, 3-0
11/5 at UC San
Diego* L,
0-3
11/6 at CS San
Bernardino* L, 1-3
11/10 vs. CS
Dominguez Hills* W,
3-1
11/12 vs. Grand
Canyon* W,
3-1
*Denotes CCAA Game
!= Midnight Sun
Invitational, Alaska Fairbanks
^= Holiday Inn-Select Diamond Bar/Cal Poly Pomona
Invitational