The night after an exhilarating and surprising victory against Big West’s then first-place team, UC Santa Barbara, the 49ers snatched a sweep in their last match of the season against Cal Poly, ending with scores of 25-12, 25-16 and 25-14.
Domination was foreseen, as the 49ers (18-11, 11-5 Big West) were able to take a 12-point lead in the first set and cruise to a 25-12 win. A win was commanded in the second set as the 49ers took 19 of their 47 kills and gave their opponent no chance of success, as the Mustangs (12-17, 6-10 Big West) obtained zero blocks and hit at a .250 clip compared to the 49ers’ .486.
There was a small scare at the beginning of the third set when the 49ers trailed for the first time. But hope was short-lived for the Mustangs, as errors allowed the 49ers to pick up nine blocks and 15 kills to keep them in the lead. The Mustangs had a depressing hitting percentage of .000 during the set, which the ‘Niners took, 25-14.
The most impressive aspect of the 49ers’ win may have been their nearly-flawless hitting performance, as they came out with 47 kills and six errors. But it would be unfair to not mention the defense that brought out 24 blocks compared to the Mustangs’ total of four.
Lone senior Delainey Aigner-Swesey had an error-free night as she picked up 12 kills, the most out of everybody of the night. She is one of two Big West hitters to surpass 400 kills this season.
Chisom Okpala also had a perfect night as she racked up nine kills and seven blocks with no errors in either category.
Alex Reid scored 10 kills while Bre Mackie and Haleigh Hampton each contributed seven. Hampton and Reid also provided five blocks each.
The Mustangs were led by Megan McConnell with nine kills and Steffi Sooter with the most digs of the night with 15.
Although the 49ers have a winning record and won their last four games, the team isn’t satisfied with its fourth-place standing in the Big West.
“We didn’t play to our potential that we could have this season,” Okpala said. “ I think we could’ve gone a long way and played 10 times better.”
With the missed opportunity at the playoffs, the 49ers understood that winning their last two games would not boost their standings. But they found it important to continue playing to the best of their ability.
“It could’ve been easy to give up knowing we had no chance at playoffs three weeks ago,” Aigner-Swesey said. “But we continued to work hard to play for our pride and dignity, and I think that really says something about our team.”