Volleyball Loses to Cal Poly, 3-0, at Asics Pepperdine Tournament

(boxscore)

9/1/06 -- Junior Martina Wagner (Friedrichshafen, Germany) recorded a game-high 14 kills and 12 digs but it was not enough as the Long Island University volleyball team fell to Cal Poly, 3-0 (29-31, 24--30, 23-30), in the first game of the Asics Pepperdine Classic on Friday evening.

Classmate Shelby Heggie (Laramie, Wyo.) added 12 kills on .333 hitting percentage for the Blackbirds, who dropped to 2-2 on the season.

Cal Poly jumped out to a 12-5 advantage in the first game. LIU responded later in the period, eventually tying it up at 25-25 on a Mustangs attack error. The Blackbirds had an opportunity to take the a 1-0 lead in the match at 29-28, but consecutive kills by Kylie Atherstone and a solo block by Ashleigh Bertoni thwarted LIU's rally and pushed Cal Poly ahead 1-0.

After dropping the second game, the Blackbirds gained an 8-7 lead in game three. But the Mustangs, who outhit LIU .181 to .051 and recorded 13.5 blocks, went on an 11-4 run to take control of the game.

Atherstone led Cal Poly with 12 kills. Candace Milton also had a strong game for the Mustangs, finishing with seven kills on .636 hitting and six block assists.

The Blackbirds continue play in the Pepperdine Tournament at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2 as they face host Pepperdine. They will also face nationally-ranked Texas at 8:00 p.m.