Although Cal Poly Volleyball is playing in the first-ever Big West postseason for women’s volleyball for the first time, nothing has changed for the “Cardiac Stangs.”
The Mustangs (21-10) went down two sets to none. The first two losses weren’t particularly close. The Mustangs didn’t surpass the 20-point mark as the Aggies won the first set by six points and the second set by ten points.
But for the fifth time this season, the Mustangs came back and reverse-swept their opponent. The postseason win is also the 10th five-set win of the season.
“Resiliency is a word that isn’t thrown around for many groups,” Head Coach Caroline Walters. “I think it’s reserved for special groups and this group is extremely special and deserving of the word resilient.”
Redshirt junior outside hitter Tommi Stockham and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Annabelle Thalken led the offense. Stockham racked up 16 kills while Thalken added 14.
Redshirt junior libero Jolei Akima collected 21 digs and redshirt sophomore setter Emme Bullis collected 17 as the team out-dug UC Davis by 11.
In the first set, UC Davis gave Cal Poly a hard time offensively, serving aggressively to hinder their hits. The Aggies racked up five service aces, and the Mustangs picked up two.
Many of UC Davis’s servers performed jump serves, with the ball gaining lots of topspin and velocity. The Mustangs struggled to handle them in the earlier sets, which contributed to a faulty offense on the serve.
“Davis [is] probably the toughest serving team that we’ve played this year,” Walters said. “Santa Barbara puts a lot of pace on the ball, Hawaii is obviously great, but it’s rare that Davis is ripping jump serves. You don’t see that a ton in the women’s game anymore.”
For a little while, it looked like the Mustangs found their groove in the second set, playing back and forth until UC Davis had a 14-13 lead. However, the Aggies went on a 9-1 run and took the set 25-15.
On both sides of the floor, UC Davis shined, and the Mustangs struggled. The Mustangs’ defense struggled to block, and the Aggies got their hands on hits at the net. The Mustangs only had 13 kills trough two sets and the same amount of self-inflicted errors.
It was visible in every facet of the game: UC Davis was outplaying Cal Poly. As a result, changes were made.
Redshirt junior middle blocker Amy Hiatt, who spent the past three games on the sideline, subbed into the game in the third set. Regardless of the statistics, Hiatt’s impact in the middle and slowing balls down helped the offense reinvigorate and get better looks.
“I think we can set her a little bit more and get the offense going from our middles a little bit more now from both positions,” Walters said. “But from a block perspective, I thought Amy created a big presence out there.”
Cal Poly’s ability to mix and match their lineup in many different ways and still play at an effective level proves the depth of their roster and how they can adjust to their opponents. They showcased this when Markovska went down against Long Beach State and against the Aggies when the starters were unsuccessful in the first half.
“It speaks about the character of people on our team when you’re given that opportunity to come in and take it and I truly think we have needed every single person on this roster to get to where we are,” Walters said.
With the way many Cal Poly games have gone this year, the second set is usually competitive, but the 25-15 loss seemed discouraging.
The Mustangs always came into the third set with newfound intensity, but the answer was not clear until the latter half of the third set.
The attackers seemed to make better decisions, mixing up their hits and being unpredictable by tipping the ball over blockers rather than going for the spike.
The Mustangs held a 17-15 lead in the third when Stockham and Thalken’s hits overtook Davis’s defense, exchanging kills until the end of the set 25-19.
Stockham recalls going back to the locker room and the team having a “full reset” even with their “backs against the wall”.
“We’ve worked hard for this since August,” Stockham said. “So we’re not just gonna lay down and just let them win one more set.”
In the fourth set, the offense continued to heat up, sporting a .270 hitting percentage that set.
The Mustangs had a lead as large as eight points, but the Aggies, even hungrier after narrowly losing to Cal Poly last Saturday, did not let up. They eventually cut the lead down to one at 23-22, but Stockham and Hiatt closed the set with back-to-back kills.
With Cal Poly supporters dancing to “Shout” by the Isley Brothers playing throughout the Walter Pyramid between sets four and five, the Mustangs felt confident going into the fifth set.
Stockham says the team has “settled in” to fifth sets and rightfully so, as they are 10-2 this season in set five. However, they knew that winning this set was not going to be easy.
Going back and forth, the Mustangs took an 8-6 lead after a commanding block by Kate Slack and Emme Bullis. They went down 9-8 but took the lead at 13-12. Markovska grabbed a kill to make it 14-12 and an attack error by UC Davis ended the game at 15-13.
The Mustangs play Hawai’i in their next match on Friday, Nov. 24. Both the Mustangs and the Rainbow Wahine beat each other on the road this season and this time they will play on neutral ground for the semifinals.