DAVIS, Calif. --- Senior libero Danielle Dupar recorded 30 digs to pass Carlie Price for sixth place on the Pilots’ career digs list, but Cal Poly’s Kristina Graven posted 25 kills on a .489 attack percentage to give the Mustangs a 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-14) victory over the Pilots Saturday afternoon at the Aggie Invitational at The Pavilion in Davis, Calif. Dupar finished the match with a career total of 1,229 digs, leaving her just 12 behind Nikki Rosenfeldt .
Portland (6-7) captured a tense first set. Trailing 11-10, the Pilots turned to sophomores Kate Bostwick and Ariel Usher for a five point run to take a 15-11 lead. Portland would expand their lead to 23-17, but Cal Poly (9-3) was not finished. The Mustangs strung together five consecutive points of their own to bring the game to 23-22 but the Pilots responded by taking the final two points to close out the set, capped off by a double block from Bostwick and freshman Mckenzie Oliver.
Kristina Graven led the Mustangs resurgence in the second set, posting seven kills as Cal Poly pulled away courtesy of a .419 team attacking percentage.
Cal Poly jumped out to a 12-1 advantage in the third set but Portland rebounded with a 10-4 run to close the deficit to five. A Mustangs’ timeout a few rallies later slowed the Pilots’ momentum as Cal Poly took seven of the last nine points to take a 2-1 set advantage. A team effort in the fourth set allowed the Mustangs to capture the match.
“Cal Poly really forced us to play a game style that suited them. We are still in the process of discovering what we are,” head coach Joe Houck said after the game, “and having Autumn (Wedan) and Mckenzie come in and doing some very good things is going to be valuable as we head into WCC play.” Wedan and Oliver posted three kills each while Oliver added a career-high four blocks.
Dupar, a native of Corte Madera, Calif., entered the week ranked 16th in the nation with an average of 5.50 digs/set. Through three matches so far this week, she has bumped that average up to 5.77. Price (5.04 in 2002) and Murphy McClenahan (5.07 in 2005) are the only two Pilots to have averaged more than five digs per set over the course of a season.
Sophomore Madison Smith recorded 27 assists to give her 416 for the season, surpassing last year’s total of 391.
Portland plays one more match at the Aggie Invitational, a 7 PM affair on Saturday against UC Davis (7-4). The Aggies defeated Oregon State in four sets on Friday before sweeping Nevada Saturday morning. Portland then travels to Seattle on Tuesday September 20, for their final non-conference road match of the season at 7 PM.
