Down 2-0, Cal Poly volleyball roars back to beat Georgia and advance at NCAA Tourney

It was a night of comebacks for the Cal Poly women’s volleyball team.

Down two sets to nil, the Mustangs roared back to defeat Georgia 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-10 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Stanford.

But that wasn’t the only comeback.

Last season, star opposite hitter Torrey Van Winden was forced to sit out in the team’s NCAA Tournament first-round loss to UCLA after she suffered a concussion in practice. The concussion symptoms continued this year, sidelining her for every game of the regular season.

But the former Big West Player of the Year was not to be sidelined for the potentially final collegiate game of her career on Friday.

Van Winden had 13 kills in her return to the court.

Cal Poly (21-9) was able to pair Maia Dvoracek and Van Winden on the court for the first time this season. Van Winden had seven kills in the first set, but was held without a kill in the second. She came back strong over the next three, as did the rest of the Mustangs to complete the reverse sweep.

Dvoracek uncharacteristically struggled with hitting errors and from the service line.

She had her serve broken repeatedly by Georgia, finishing with just one ace after averaging .62 per set in the regular season, good for third in the nation.

Georgia challenged her repeatedly at the net, leading to 11 errors and a .041 hitting percentage. Dvoracek finished with 14 kills and 12 digs.

The rest of the team picked up the slack, as Jessica McCroskey had 11 kills, Meredith Phillips had nine kills and Madilyn Mercer had eight kills. Avalon DeNecochea had 47 assists and six digs.

The match featured 43 ties and 20 lead changes.

SEC Freshman of the Year Kacie Evans made her presence felt for Georgia, recording 23 kills and 11 digs with a .245 hitting percentage. Kianna Young had 13 kills, and Rachel Ritchie had 11.

Georgia (20-10) was one of six SEC teams to make the NCAA Tournament and it was their first tournament appearance since 2013. Only the Big 10 Conference had more teams selected with seven.

Kentucky, Florida, Texas A&M secured national seeds in the top 16, while South Carolina, Missouri, and the Bulldogs garnered at-large bids.

Cal Poly is now 15-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Mustangs will play the winner of No. 3-seeded Stanford and Denver at 6 p.m. Saturday.

This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 7:30 PM with the headline "Down 2-0, Cal Poly volleyball roars back to beat Georgia and advance at NCAA Tourney."