October 4, 2007

College Notebook: Mustangs sharing Big West volleyball lead
By Erick Smith

he No. 24 Cal Poly women’s volleyball team found itself briefly in unfamiliar territory last weekend.

The Mustangs lost sole possession of first place in the Big West Conference after being upset 3-1 at Pacific on Saturday. It was the first time since the 2005 season that Cal Poly (9-7, 3-1 Big West) did not hold at least a share of the conference’s top spot.

“Teams have come with their guns loaded and everybody is going trying to beat us,” Cal Poly head coach Jon Stevenson said Wednesday. “It’s going to be this way whether we like it or not. How we’ve handled it so far the start of the conference has been pretty darn good.”

Cal Poly managed to go wire-to-wire with the conference lead last year after winning its first nine consecutive conference matches. But this season after only four conference matches, the Mustangs were momentarily displaced by Cal State Fullerton, which had a bye Saturday.

The Titans (7-6, 2-1), though, quickly handed the lead off to a trio of teams following their 3-2 loss to Cal State Northridge on Tuesday. Now, Cal Poly, Pacific and Long Beach State all hold a share of first place.

The Mustangs will look to start a new run atop the Big West beginning Friday when they host Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. at Mott Gym.

“Fullerton is good but I think we really feel like we are ready to have a breakout match,” Stevenson said. “That Pacific match was tough to take, and I think our girls are really ready to break out and have a major performance.”

Playing at home bodes well for Cal Poly as the Mustangs enter the match with a 20-3 record in Mott Gym since the start of the 2005 season. Cal Poly has won 11 of its past 12 Big West matches at home.

In order for Cal Poly to continue rattling off conference wins, the Mustangs will need their usual suspects to continue playing at a high level.

Hitters Kylie Athersone and Ali Waller average 4.29 and 3.66 kills per game, respectively, and libero Kristen Jackson ranks second in the Big West with 5.25 digs per game.

Setter Chelsea Hayes is also third in the conference with an average of 11.95 assists per game.

Baseball

The Cal Poly baseball team’s schedule was announced Tuesday and it features home games against UCLA, Santa Clara, USC and Cal.

The Mustangs host UCLA on March 13-15 and Santa Clara on March 21-22 for three-game series. Cal (April 22) and USC (May 6) both play only game at Baggett Stadium.

Cal Poly plays 10 of its 56 games against Pac-10 schools, but it will also square off against a team from the Southeastern Conference (Alabama) for the first time in program history.

The three-game series at Alabama beginning Feb. 22 marks the start of Cal Poly’s season.

Cal Poly’s home opener will be against UC Santa Barbara on March 11.

The Mustangs’ first conference home game is a weekend series against UC Irvine on March 28-30.

Cuesta College

Ashley de Goede and Craig Erickson were named Cuesta College Athletes of the Month for October.

De Goede is the second-leading scorer on the women’s water polo team with 36 goals. The 2006 All- American also ranks second in steals (30) and assists (12).

Through four games at the Mid-State Tournament, de Goede had a team-high 15 goals, which was the second- highest mark at the tournament.

Erickson, a sophomore on the men’s water polo team, leads the team in goals (26) and assists (21). He scored a career-high six goals in last week’s win over American River and has been the top scorer in half of the Cougars’ games.