Box Score Sept. 19, 2015 Box Score
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Taking advantage of six aces, 10 team blocks and a pair of late comebacks, the LMU volleyball team (8-3) defeated Cal Poly (8-3) by scores of 15-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-21 on the road on Saturday afternoon to extend its win streak to five matches.
Sophomore Sarah Sponcil led all players with 15 kills, but hit just .122 over 41 swings with 10 errors. Setter Hannah Tedrow nearly amassed a double-double, teaming 41 assists with eight digs and three of LMU's six aces. Tedrow also proved effective on the block, registering a block solo and five block assists to match the blocking output from senior Amber Mirabello. Mirabello added eight kills, while Jamie Lea had 12 on 31 attacks.
Adlee Van Winden led the Mustang attack with 11 kills, while Raeann Greisen had 10 to accompany two block solos and a block assist. Cal Poly finished with 14 total team blocks, led by eight block assists from Hannah Schleis and a block solo and seven assists from Caihla Petiprin. Taylor Nelson was the only player to collect a double-double, finishing with 38 assists and 10 digs from the setter position.
Cal Poly came out strong in the first set, hitting .522 as a team behind six kills on eight attacks from Van Winden. The Mustangs limited LMU to just a .036 hitting percentage, including posting three team blocks to earn the 25-15 victory in the opener.
Trailing by a set, LMU drew back even with a 25-18 victory in the second. Sponcil posted four of her 15 match kills in the second, while Tedrow served up three aces to guide LMU even in the match score. Tied at 8-8, LMU won 10 of the next 13 points, capped by a Lea kill, to claim an 18-11 lead. The Lions reached set point at 24-14 on Tedrow's final ace of the set, but Cal Poly stayed alive with four unanswered points before eventually losing the set on a kill from Sponcil.
The Lions had to come back to earn the victory in the third set, trailing 14-9 on a Schleis kill that forced an LMU timeout. The break served its purpose as LMU won six of the next seven points to run the tally even at 15. The two teams traded a pair of points to 17-17, but LMU won four straight points, including two on a pair of Rachelle Suaava aces, to take a 21-17 lead. The Lions continued to play well down the stretch, eventually winning each of the final four points of the set en route to the 25-18 victory.
It was another late comeback that led LMU to the four-set victory over Cal Poly, as the Lions trailed 17-12 on a Savannah Nieman kill from Nelson. The Lions inched to within four at 18-14 before winning six straight points, including three on kills from Sponcil, to take a 20-18 lead and force a Cal Poly timeout. The LMU momentum continued out of the huddle, as LMU reached match-point at 24-20 on a Mirabello kill before sophomore Jennifer Casillas tacked on her sixth and final match kill to hand LMU the victory. Sponcil saved her best set for last, totaling seven kills on 14 attacks, while Tedrow registered six digs, a block solo and two block assists.
LMU will return to action on Sunday when it returns home to host San Diego State at 3 pm PT.
