Post by theskate on Sept 9, 2007 3:13:20 GMT -5
www.gopoly.com/index.php?p=sports_news_detail&cat_sport=55&article_id=3584
Jackson Sets Cal Poly Digs Mark as No. 17 Mustangs Defeat Saint Mary's
PALO ALTO – Senior libero Kristin Jackson produced a match-high 17 digs to become the Cal Poly volleyball program’s all-time leader as the No. 17 Mustangs completed the Stanford Invitational with a 30-24, 28-30, 30-10, 30-26 victory against Saint Mary’s Saturday evening at Maples Pavilion.
Jackson needed just seven digs entering the match to break Michelle Hansen’s program record of 1,683 digs, compiled from 1986-89. The 1,694 career digs compiled by Jackson is the second-highest figure in Big West history, trailing only UC Santa Barbara standout Kristen Nelson (2001-04), who established the conference standard at 1,711.
Also assisting Cal Poly to Saturday success was junior opposite Kylie Atherstone, whose match-high 25 kills were one short of her career high. Atherstone added 14 digs and a .422 hitting percentage for the Mustangs (5-4), who received 14 kills from junior outside hitter Ali Waller and a Cal Poly-high 12 from sophomore Gaby Rivera.
“Kristin has been unreal to work with and I felt fortunate to have inherited a player of her caliber,” said Cal Poly head coach Jon Stevenson, who produced a victory against the program he coached from 2002-04. “She’s capable of dominating a match from her position and in the rally-scoring era where matches don’t go on forever, her record is a hard-earned one.”
Cal Poly led wire-to-wire in the opening game, sprinting to a 17-11 advantage and allowing the Gaels (5-3) to climb to as close as three points of the lead just once.
The Mustangs faltered in the second game, hitting just .059 with 12 errors. Cal Poly never led by more than two points, but used a late 7-1 run to deadlock the set, 27-27.
Cal Poly’ victory in the third game marked just the third time since 2001 that the Mustangs had defeated an opponent by 20 points in a single set. Cal Poly took a double-digit lead at 12-2 via a Saint Mary’s attack error and hit .344 against three errors during the game.
The Gaels took an early 7-3 lead in the fourth game before a 9-2 Cal Poly run delivered the Mustangs a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Saint Mary’s tied the game eight times but the Mustangs fended off the Gaels with a .341 hitting percentage.
Saturday’s outing ended a nine-day, six-match odyssey where Cal Poly faced four programs ranked in the top nine of the AVCA/CSTV Division I Poll. The Mustangs posted a 3-3 mark during the stretch, losing to No. 1 Nebraska (3-0), No. 2 Stanford (3-0) and No. 3 Penn State (3-2). The Mustangs began the Stanford Invitational Sept. 6 with a 3-1 victory against No. 9 BYU.
“The win was a great way to end a long stretch of matches and we learned a lot playing the best teams in the nation,” Stevenson said. “We’re exactly where we want to be. It would have been nice to pull off a few more upsets, but we’re on our way to a great season.”
Cal Poly returns to the court Sept. 14 against Xavier at the USF Tournament. Action at War Memorial Gym gets underway at 5 p.m.
Jackson Sets Cal Poly Digs Mark as No. 17 Mustangs Defeat Saint Mary's
PALO ALTO – Senior libero Kristin Jackson produced a match-high 17 digs to become the Cal Poly volleyball program’s all-time leader as the No. 17 Mustangs completed the Stanford Invitational with a 30-24, 28-30, 30-10, 30-26 victory against Saint Mary’s Saturday evening at Maples Pavilion.
Jackson needed just seven digs entering the match to break Michelle Hansen’s program record of 1,683 digs, compiled from 1986-89. The 1,694 career digs compiled by Jackson is the second-highest figure in Big West history, trailing only UC Santa Barbara standout Kristen Nelson (2001-04), who established the conference standard at 1,711.
Also assisting Cal Poly to Saturday success was junior opposite Kylie Atherstone, whose match-high 25 kills were one short of her career high. Atherstone added 14 digs and a .422 hitting percentage for the Mustangs (5-4), who received 14 kills from junior outside hitter Ali Waller and a Cal Poly-high 12 from sophomore Gaby Rivera.
“Kristin has been unreal to work with and I felt fortunate to have inherited a player of her caliber,” said Cal Poly head coach Jon Stevenson, who produced a victory against the program he coached from 2002-04. “She’s capable of dominating a match from her position and in the rally-scoring era where matches don’t go on forever, her record is a hard-earned one.”
Cal Poly led wire-to-wire in the opening game, sprinting to a 17-11 advantage and allowing the Gaels (5-3) to climb to as close as three points of the lead just once.
The Mustangs faltered in the second game, hitting just .059 with 12 errors. Cal Poly never led by more than two points, but used a late 7-1 run to deadlock the set, 27-27.
Cal Poly’ victory in the third game marked just the third time since 2001 that the Mustangs had defeated an opponent by 20 points in a single set. Cal Poly took a double-digit lead at 12-2 via a Saint Mary’s attack error and hit .344 against three errors during the game.
The Gaels took an early 7-3 lead in the fourth game before a 9-2 Cal Poly run delivered the Mustangs a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Saint Mary’s tied the game eight times but the Mustangs fended off the Gaels with a .341 hitting percentage.
Saturday’s outing ended a nine-day, six-match odyssey where Cal Poly faced four programs ranked in the top nine of the AVCA/CSTV Division I Poll. The Mustangs posted a 3-3 mark during the stretch, losing to No. 1 Nebraska (3-0), No. 2 Stanford (3-0) and No. 3 Penn State (3-2). The Mustangs began the Stanford Invitational Sept. 6 with a 3-1 victory against No. 9 BYU.
“The win was a great way to end a long stretch of matches and we learned a lot playing the best teams in the nation,” Stevenson said. “We’re exactly where we want to be. It would have been nice to pull off a few more upsets, but we’re on our way to a great season.”
Cal Poly returns to the court Sept. 14 against Xavier at the USF Tournament. Action at War Memorial Gym gets underway at 5 p.m.
