The CSUN women’s volleyball team certainly showed it was capable of hanging with the 24th-ranked Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs.

However, in the end, the Mustangs proved to be on a higher level, as Cal Poly bounced back from a game-one defeat to win the next three games and with it, the match at the Matadome Friday night.

“We really wanted to start out strong and play hard because the last few matches we started slow and we wanted to come out strong this time, but it didn’t stick with us, I guess,” said junior opposite Jenn Probert.

CSUN briefly trailed 2-1 in game one before it won six of the next seven sets to lead 7-3. The Matadors continued to roll, taking a 13-9 lead to force a Mustangs’ timeout. Cal Poly came back with two points in a row, but CSUN won the next three to lead 16-11. The lead grew to 20-13 and the Matadors never looked back, as they went on to the 30-19 first game win.

CSUN looked to keep things going in game two, jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Cal Poly though chipped away at the lead, caught the Matadors at seven and pulled ahead on the next set on a roof block. CSUN followed up by winning the next three sets to lead 11-8. The Matadors led 12-10 before the Mustangs won the next three sets to take the lead.

Cal Poly junior outside hitter Ali Waller served into the net to tie the match. Then, after Cal Poly won the next set, CSUN sophomore Angela Hupp and freshman middle blocker Lynda Morales blocked a Mustang attack to tie the third game at 14. Cal Poly followed by winning consecutive sets to take a lead they never relinquished, as they won game two 30-26.

“I think we played well in the second game,” Hupp said. “We didn’t get the energy we needed the rest of the game.”

Game three was more of the same, with CSUN again scoring the next three points of the game. But, Cal Poly answered with a 5-1 run to take the lead. Again, the Matadors stayed in the game, leading 11-10 until Cal Poly won the next four sets to take a 14-11 lead. CSUN again tied to stay in the game, but just like game three, Cal Poly refused to buckle, holding off the Matadors for a 30-27 win.

Cal Poly struck early in game four, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. CSUN tried to stay close, but trailing 14-11, the Matadors saw the Mustangs win the next four sets to take an 18-11 lead, forcing a CSUN timeout. Cal Poly cruised from there, ending the match with a 30-23 win.

Hupp led the Matadors with 13 kills, 24 assists and 13 digs, for her third triple-double of the season. Freshman outside hitter Brittany Williams had a team-high 17 kills, junior setter Kayla Wright had 26 assists and junior Libero Amy Hultner had 19 digs.

For the Mustangs, junior opposite Kylie Atherstone had 23 kills and 12 digs and junior middle blocker Jaclyn Houston had 12 kills.

“They’re a simple team that executes that simplicity very well, so it’s a question of stopping it,” head coach Jeff Stork said of Cal Poly. “We weren’t consistent enough to sideout and win those games.”

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