Monday, October 20, 20 14
Volume L X X I X , Number 11
w w w.mus t angne w s .net
The 19 percent: Women in engineering
HARRISON CHEUNG | MUSTANG NE WS LET YOUR HAIR DOWN | Women make up approximately 19 percent of the College of Engineering. To feel more comfortable, many join female-focused academic clubs, such as WISH and SWE.
Kayla Missman @kaymissman
“You literally can’t win.” Sometimes, that’s how computer science junior Nicole Giusti feels as a woman in the College of Engineering, where men make up more than 80 percent of the population. She recounted a story of a female friend who got a reputable internship. Some of her male peers, though, said she only got it because she was a woman. “But it’s really funny, because if you don’t get internships, it’s because well, duh, you’re a girl and you’re dumb,” Giusti said. “But if you do get internships, it’s because of affirmative action.” Giusti — who interned at Northrop-Grumman this past summer
— has learned to adjust to the engineering culture in her two years at Cal Poly. It isn’t all bad, she says, but it still presents challenges. “That’s one of the most discouraging parts, being told you’re not actually talented and don’t deserve the things you have,” she said. By the numbers In Fall 2013, Cal Poly’s undergraduate enrollment was 54.8 percent male and 45.2 percent female, according to the Cal Poly Fact Book. Of those women enrolled, approximately 12 percent were in the College of Engineering. That quarter, women made up 19.3 percent of the College of Engineering undergraduate enrollment. In Fall 2013, women made up 24 percent of the incoming freshman class for the College of Engineering, including architectural engineer-
ing and bioresource and agriculture engineering. However, the proportion varies severely between different engineering majors. Biomedical engineering, for example, had 49 percent women, while the lowest was manufacturing engineering at 6 percent (though there were only 17 students in the major, according to College of Engineering statistics). Finding community Giusti didn’t notice the low percentage of women in her major — at first. She’s aware of it now, but she doesn’t feel isolated since she joined Women Involved in Software and Hardware (WISH) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). >>
see STEM, pg 2.
Campus Climate Survey:
The numbers, the successes, the problems Lauren Piraro @laurenpiraro
Data collected from the Campus Climate Survey was presented in two forums at Chumash Auditorium last week. Susan Rankin, a consultant hired to create and analyze the survey, hosted the presentations. “Campus climate is a construct, which means you can’t ask one question and know what campus climate is,” Rankin said of Cal Poly’s climate survey. “You have to ask lots of questions. We asked 93 here.” Rankin’s presentation covered topics ranging from campus demographics to personal experiences on campus. The survey indicated 1,410 respondents (22 percent) had experienced “exclusionary, intimidating, offensive and/or hostile conduct” at Cal Poly. The top three forms of behavior experienced by students were the following: “isolated or left out,” “deliberately ignored or excluded” and “intimidated or bullied.” “They’re subtle,” Rankin said at the second forum. “These kinds of subtle things are as impactful as getting slapped across the face.” >> CELINA OSEGUER A | MUSTANG NE WS WEATHER CHECK | The forums were held in Chumash Auditorium, located in the Julian A. McPhee University Union.
see CLIMATE, pg 3.
Longform or shortform? The art of Smile and Nod Will Peischel @CPMustangArts
Few things are more deadly than awkward silence. When silence strikes its victims, they squirm in an attempt to vacate the area as quickly as possible — and for good reason. Remember how uncomfortable the eighth-grade talent show was? When we can hide and observe from behind a lens or television screen, awkwardness becomes the stuff of hilarity. But we generally avoid uncomfortable situations in real life. We reserve the entertainment caliber of awkward for the fantasy of reality television. For this reason, the stakes are high in improvised entertainment — but Smile and Nod steps up to the challenge. Smile and Nod is Cal Poly’s improvisation team. On Saturdays during the school year, students gather in a humid room lined with black curtains to see the best the spontaneous comedians have to offer. They’ve gotten pretty good, too. Between the warmth of the spotlights and the “All That”-esque Smile and Nod sign, you won’t find a single awkward silence. With the help of games and audience suggestions, Smile and Nod provides a series of organic, scriptless short scenarios. >>
see SMILE AND NOD, pg 5.
GEORGIE DE MATTOS | MUSTANG NE WS KNEE-SLAPPER | Smile and Nod, Cal Poly’s improv comedy team, holds shows every Saturday on campus for the first seven weeks of the quarter.
News... 1-3 | Arts... 4-5 | Opinion... 6 | Classifieds... 7 | Sports... 8
Monday, October 20, 2014
NEWS | 2 STEM continued from pg 1. “Even though there is that giant gap, because I have a way to connect with the other girls in the major, it’s not that tough,” she said. “I think it is absolutely crucial.” She was placed in a mentorship program through WISH, which encouraged her to stay in her major. Hearing that other girls had gone through the same challenges and doubts about their respective fields of study made her more confident that she had made the right choice. The programs and professors in the computer science department are also very helpful, she said. “I don’t think I would have made it that far if I didn’t have such a supportive computer science department,” she said. Materials engineering junior Alina Lusebrink was glad to be in a small, close-knit department which helped her get to know her peers. She found a group that accepts and treats her equally, which is some-
thing everyone has to deal with, she said. “It doesn’t really matter what gender you identify with at all,” she said. “For me, it’s all about what your interests are and how you’re able to interact with other people.” What’s the problem? People have resigned themselves to the idea of engineering being dominated by males as just being the way it is, said Dianne DeTurris, an aerospace engineering professor who was the first woman hired in the department. But studies have shown a more diverse team will create a better product, DeTurris said. Diversity brings a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and input, all of which lead to better results than homogeneity. The field of engineering is aware of the problem now, she said, but it isn’t sure how to fix it. DeTurris compared the issue to a pipeline filled with holes: The people in the field are like water running through the
pipe, and as they move through it, they fall through the holes for various reasons. Engineering is now putting more “water” into the pipe, with the hope that more women will make it through. But they could also stop the holes, she said. Though the days of explicit discrimination against women in the workplace are gone, society has to deal with implicit bias, called unconscious bias. DeTurris has done extensive research and even given a presentation on the topic. Because of unconscious bias, people don’t realize it affects their views of others. People with commanalities naturally group together, she said, which can make outsiders feel excluded. When a woman becomes a boss, for example, DeTurris said people might make judgments about her as a result of unconscious bias, even if they don’t realize it’s happening. To avoid this, she said they should think critically about why they don’t like the woman and try to identify their possible biases. DeTurris has experienced that in her own life. Throughout her academic career and her time at Cal Poly, she felt more supported when she tried to fit in. Once she began challenging the culture of engineering, she felt more alone. That sentiment is echoed in various studies, she said, showing that tenured professors feel less supported, likely because they are more willing to express their opinions. Female engineering graduates get hired quickly because
of the desire for diverse teams, she said, but that benefit runs out. Soon, they hit the “glass ceiling,” she said, and they don’t advance as quickly as their male counterparts.
woman, she said. She holds hope, though, that she’s being treated differently for another reason. Lusebrink believes her challenges aren’t so different from
There can’t be a solution if people don’t see the problem — and that’s where education comes in. By fostering dialogue, holding retreats, initiating small discussion groups and requiring education about unconscious bias, Cal Poly could make an effort to fix the issue, she said. According to some studies, colleges can make small changes that translate into retaining women in engineering fields. One change is to incorporate more female faculty. Women represent just 30 percent of Cal Poly’s professors, which can b e d i s c ou r a g ing to students, DeTurris said. SWE also makes an effort to change students’ subconscious thoughts about engineering, said Jessie Klemme, former SWE president and environmental engineering graduate. Though she didn’t see the gender gap in her own major, she could see it in others. In addition to helping its members, SWE reaches out to elementary, middle and high schools to show students — especially girls — that engineering is fun. Girls typically need encouragement to be engineers, she said, and SWE tries to show them they don’t have to be great at math and science. They just have to be willing to work hard. SWE is trying to add more “water” to the pipeline, so to say, but stopping the holes will take effort from colleges nationwide and the field of engineering as a whole.
THERE ARE TIMES WHERE IT’S MORE STRESSFUL AND MORE DIFFICULT, BUT THAT’S OKAY, BECAUSE I LOVE WHAT I DO, AND I LOVE LEARNING, AND I’LL GET THROUGH IT. Alina Lusebrink Materials engineering junior
Growing pains When Giusti started at Cal Poly, she felt intimidated because she had only recently begun programming. Others in her major seemed more confident, which made her feel like they knew more than her. “It’s kind of intimidating sometimes, because you feel like they know what they’re talking about so much more than you do,” she said. “But you have to realize, they’re just being confident. I know as much as them, I’m just not as confident.” Lusebrink had a similar adjustment. She had to learn to believe in her skills. There are times when people don’t listen to her ideas as much and she can tell it’s because she’s a
those of any other student in her major. “There are times where it’s more stressful and more difficult,” she said. “But that’s okay, because I love what I do, and I love learning, and I’ll get through it.” For both Giusti and Lusebrink, success in engineering came down to having confidence in their knowledge and finding the right group of people. The solution But the question remains: How can the genders be equalized in engineering? There has to be more education about the issues, DeTurris said. The issue, she said, is most people aren’t aware that unconscious bias is a factor.
NEWS | 3
Monday, October 20, 2014 Climate continued from pg 1. Choice of major was one thing respondents cited as the reason for their personal experiences of exclusion, intimidation, offensives and/ or hostility, Rankin said. Another section of the survey covered by Rankin was the number of faculty, staff and students who said they had been sexually assaulted. “Sexual assault on college campuses is a national epidemic,” she said. “At Cal Poly, 5 percent — more than 300 respondents
— said they had been sexually assaulted while at Cal Poly.” Rankin said the amount of respondents who reported experiencing sexual assault was higher than most universities where she had conducted surveys. The majority of the respondents who experienced unwanted sexual contact at Cal Poly were multiple race, women, LGBQ respondents and respondents with disabilities. “People that experienced assaults said that it happened most often in the first or second quarter,” Rankin said. “Where’d it happen? Mostly off campus.”
The full report includes more specific locations, but the most common location was at a party, with alcohol almost always involved. In terms of an all-encompassing view of the survey’s data, Rankin said respondents were pretty comfortable with the overall climate at Cal Poly. “Students are pretty positive about their experience, most undergraduate and graduate students are happy with the classroom climate and employees have pretty positive worklife issues,” Rankin said. “Overall, kind of positive things.”
Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong spoke early in the forum, saying he had mixed feelings about the results. “Parts of it will make you Cal Poly proud, and parts of it will make you feel deeply sad for the way some people have been treated,” Armstrong said at the first forum. “I don’t know any other way to put it.” Armstrong said that while some of the negatives reflected in the survey were not outside the national norm, Cal Poly should commit to differentiating itself by breaking these norms. “Learn By Doing is about
Overall campus climate 20% Uncomfortable
Survey Respondents
80% Comfortable
getting better, and that’s what this is about,” Armstrong said. Toward the end of the first forum, several students asked Rankin questions about the sur vey. One forum attendee asked whether the job Annie Holmes — Cal Poly’s current executive director of diversity and inclusivity — previously held at Rankin and Associates constituted a conflict of interest. “If I took everybody out of my pool of people that I work with in institutions of higher education, I wouldn’t be able to have a job,” Rankin said. “There’s no conflict
of interest, because Annie had nothing to do with data analysis.” Rankin went on to say she had administered 127 such reports across the nation, and that reports she had completed on UC system campuses were freely available for those seeking to investigate more of her work. Annie Holmes closed by saying her office would be providing guidance and leadership but would not be making decisions or setting priorities without input from the campus community. Focus groups will be held where reactions to the campus climate survey will be discussed.
Monday, October 20, 2014
ARTS | 4
Growing Grounds Downtown: San Luis Obispo’s secret garden
Kelly Trom @kttrom
DYL AN SUN | MUSTANG NE WS CACTUS-COOLER | Growing Grounds Downtown sells a variety of plants that are drought-resistant.
Shoppers talk loudly as bags of goods dangle from their arms. Children squeal while playing in the fountain. An ambulance wails on its way to an emergency. But amidst all of this hustle and bustle of Downtown San Luis Obispo is a peaceful oasis known as the Growing Grounds Downtown Garden Center and Gift Shop. Time seems to stop at this one-of-a-kind garden shop, owned and operated by the nonprofit Transitions-Mental Health Association (TMHA). One of the many arms of TMHA, Growing Grounds Downtown is one of few places where the public can directly buy products grown at one of the organization’s two farms. These wholesale nurseries offer therapeutic horticulture programs to people with mental illnesses in the community. The San Luis Obispo location grows drought-tolerant native plants and succulents, and Santa Maria’s produces vegetable starters, herbs and fresh flowers. Linda Neugent, job coach and assistant manager at Growing Grounds Downtown, first discovered the tranquility of Growing Grounds Downtown while passing by on Palm Street. A gardener herself, Neugent immediately knew she wanted to work there. Five years later, she still enjoys the time she spends at the store because of the atmosphere and the good cause of giving back to the community. “It’s been very therapeutic for me just to dig in the dirt,” Neugent said. “You are doing something, giving back, watching something grow, and it makes you feel good. You are participating in something that is doing someone some good.” The shop sells all kinds of plants, including specialty varieties such as terrarium and air plants that only need light, water and air to survive — no dirt necessary. The staff knows all there is to know about plants and gardening techniques. “I think most people love the store not only for its plants and ambience, but because they are so overwhelmed by how beautiful it is,” Neugent said. “I also think our customer service is really good in the respect that we do go out of our way to answer questions and help people find the
right plants for their situation.” Some staff members know the answers because, like Neugent, they have been gardening for years. Others are learning through their work at the therapeutic horticulture program at the Growing Grounds farms. In that program, they learn how to propagate, plant, weed and pot plants, but often they want even more experience. “A lot of times they want to see what the next step is,” Neugent said, “so they will come here and do a work experience with us (at the store),” Neugent said. Growing Grounds store coordinator Christine Story helps place and train these workers to work shifts at the store. It is part of a larger THMA effort called the Support Employment Program, which helps job seekers discover their strengths and find jobs that fit them. “We have this great partnership with the farms,” Story said. “We all have the common goal of providing work experience for folks, so it has been efficient for all of us to work together like this.” Beyond plants, the store offers locally handcrafted artwork, jewelry and free trade products, including the work of well-known ceramic artist Charles Varni. Varni, a succulent enthusiast, creates organic, flowing planters in a studio on his large property in Oceano. “I am looking to make pots that enhance the wonderful, architectural geometric beauty of succulents in terms of their shape and their color,” Varni said. He uses clay that, when fired, takes on the color and texture of natural rock and colors seen in geological forms. Varni especially enjoys the personal connection that comes with having his work showcased in a locally focused store. He often comes to San Luis Obispo for Growing Grounds Downtown events to meet with the people who buy his products. “I think that there is a consciousness in San Luis Obispo of living locally, buying locally and supporting people locally,” Varni said. “There is a lot of pride in terms of where we live and a lot of appreciation for it.” Growing Grounds Downtown is located at 956 Chorro St. All proceeds made at the shop go toward TMHA programs that support mental health causes. An open house will be held on Nov. 21 and 22.
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ARTS | 5
Monday, October 20, 2014
A case for comic books Will Peischel @cpmustangarts
Reed Cain has a vision. The owner and proprietor of Dr. Cain’s Comics and Games on Marsh Street hopes his beloved medium of art is accessible to anybody; it isn’t just that “weird boys’ club.” But, according to Cain, the cherished medium has fallen victim to the ever-lurking sense of exclusivity haunting any art community. In a universe where the public perceives comic books as only for adolescent males, a beacon of hope illuminates the void. The store’s sign, which evokes the image of a 1950s soda bar, shines on Marsh Street in yellows and reds. Inside the single-room shop, the walls are lined with rows and rows of editions. The bearded Cain sits behind a desk with his arms crossed, ready to find you the perfect fit. “There’s so much cool stuff,” he said. “I want people to not feel weird when they come into a comic book store. As the proprietor, I try to match the book to the person.” Cain understands that approaching something new can be intimidating, and it can be hard to know where to start. He thinks now is an opportune time to give comics a chance. With the popularity of superhero films, comic book culture has a relevant niche in entertainment. He asks why not opt for the same story in a superior medium? “I read the book and I see the movie and the book was really good,” he said. “The movie doesn’t offer the time. You always imagine things a little differently and the interpretation never really works. The same thing for comics. Captain America: Winter Solider is this badass three-anda-half-year story; it’s awesome. They boil it down
and condense it, throw out the major plot points and hammer the adventure.” Cain also points out that illustrating has largely exited popular culture’s consciousness. However, comic books have been a safe haven for the art form. “Illustration almost doesn’t exist in the mainstream anymore,” he said. “You rarely see magazines full of illustrations. Look for a magazine with an illustrated cover. Photography took over. The top illustrators are working in comics.” He points to Daniel Clowes, a closet comic book illustrator who moved on to illustrate covers for The New Yorker. To Cain, the marriage of illustration and writing provides a totally unique experience. “Everyone has read ‘Where the Wild Things Are’,” he said. “You can’t really think of the story without the illustrations. If you become accustomed to that, as you read more comics, there’s a lot of information. You’re a participant in the comic because you’re imagining what’s happening.” The word “imagination” might conjure the perception of childishness. Don’t tell that to Cain. He’ll explain that the themes discussed in comics are much more extensive than the stereotype allows. “I think anything you’re looking for is available,” he said. “There’s philosophy, social studies. I have a great one about the legalization of prostitution.” When asked what an average Cal Poly student should start with, Cain pointed to Alan Moore, famous for The Watchmen. “The start is Alan Moore,” Cain said. “His writing is awesome, and it really does cross a lot of barriers in terms of literature, style, tone. It’s accessible, it’s complex, it’s really good stuff.”
GEORGIE DE MATTOS | MUSTANG NE WS LAUGH OUT LOUD | The comedy team holds two sets per Saturday show: a shortform and a longform.
Smile and Nod continued from pg 1. In an instant, scenes jump from the inside of a grandfather clock to eviction notices. The key to keeping a steady pace and a happy crowd? Cooperation. While the audience files into rows of chairs, the 17-member Smile and Nod team prepares for the show like any sports team would: encouraging words and hugging. According to the managers — architectural engineering sophomore Tim Gachot and mechanical engineering senior Brandon Cunnane — the goal is to instill a good mindset and sense of teamwork. “We do a quick intense warmup and activities to get us really pumped up,” Gabot said. “Then before the show, it’s very much ‘I trust you, we’re on the same team for a reason, let’s support each other onstage.’” “We have a hugging thing that we do; we all hug each other,” Cunnane said. After bouncing onto the stage and introducing themselves, the Smile and Nodders pro-
WILL PEISCHEL | MUSTANG NE WS KA-POW | Reed Cain, owner of Dr. Cain’s Comics and Games, believes in the relevance of comic books.
ceed depending on whether the particular show is longform or shortform. Longform shows involve extended story arcs while shortform consists of short, punchy skits. Shortform is to a commercial as longform is to a television show, Gabot said. “In shortform, there’s a predetermined structure, whereas in longform it’s harder because you’re walking out with nothing predetermined,” Cunnane said. “Longform is harder to do, but when it turns out well, it’s better.” Smile and Nod might be a comedy group with a pro-hug stance, but preparing to perform onstage for up to an hour and a half requires commitment and practice. Members meet twice a week to review past shows for mistakes and virtues, while also practicing for shows to come. “We meet every Friday for two hours and practice longform,” Cunnane said. “Then we meet every Sunday for two hours for shortform.” But the job requires more than a good work ethic — it also needs a sense of friendship, reliability and cooperation. “Every day we’re with each other,” Cunnane said.
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Monday, October 20, 2014
Why my father shouldn’t fear ISIS when I visit Armenia Zachary Antoyan @CPMustangNews Zachary Antoyan is a political science senior and Mustang News liberal columnist. These views do not necessarily reflect the opinion or editorial coverage of Mustang News. I have been called many different races during my time here at Cal Poly. Few times has someone nailed it on their first try. And truthfully, the only reason they guess it is because they are usually Armenian themselves. Or Greek. They usually get it right, too. I didn’t grow up in a traditional Armenian home. Instead, I was taught about my culture through church. I was taught about my culture through the stories of my grandparents. It is something spoken very highly of and is often done so. A major reason for this is simply due to cultural preservation. A massacre in our home of the Caucasus Mountains and under the shadow of Mt. Ararat forced us around the globe. It is a memory that has not, will not and should not be forgotten. In the wake of this, we attempt to keep all who are related to it in some way, even through distant connections, educated on the subject. Many also keep up with the current affairs of the country, and I am one of them. In the same way that I study the affairs of this country, I also study the affairs of a small, post-Soviet developing country: Armenia. And you thought this was going to be a column about diversity and inclusivity at Cal Poly. NOPE. Now Dad, allow me to use this space to do three things: justify my pursuit of a degree in political science (as I do every week in this column; brag and shameless self-bump), attempt to dispel any fears you
may have of me traveling back to Armenia and provide some knowledge to everyone else about the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in a unique way. No one wants this to be just the obligatory ISIS column. That would be boring. I get it, though. Having your son exist halfway around the world, almost 7,050 miles away, may elicit some feelings of worry. No doubt, the recent kerfuffle regarding ISIS in that region plays a part in this worry. But to get even anywhere near the border to Armenia, ISIS would have to pass through two countries: Turkey and Iran. The likelihood of either of those two letting that happen is almost nonexistent. Currently, ISIS is known to mainly operate in two countries — Iraq and Syria, as you may have gleaned from its name. I say “mainly” because we really can’t account for the quieter cells of this organization that exist in other countries. To be sure, there are also groups outside of ISIS that claim to be affiliated with it. They don’t count either, but they’re probably just as terrible. Despite the best efforts of the American-led airstrike campaign to blow ISIS up from far away, the terrorist group has still made some advances in both regions. The Syrian city of Kobani has been under siege for a while now, and ISIS is taking key positions from Kurdish fighters every day. In Iraq, a military base in the province of Anbar, fell to ISIS, and the nearby town of Hit is under threat of ISIS takeover. Iraq’s armed forces were seen retreating from both locations. I wonder, who trained those guys? Meanwhile, some people think the airstrikes are working, while others think they are not. To be honest, we have no idea. More importantly, it doesn’t matter, because without troops on the ground, all we can do is hope the factions we give guns to do
the true progressive the job for us. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling for troops on the ground, and I think doing such a thing would probably also be a bad idea, especially considering the chances of being pulled into the civil conflict in Syria. And I’m not the only one who thinks this. President Obama has claimed that such an option is not being considered, and I doubt he would let Congress change that. Since we’re not helping, neither are other countries. Turkey claims, “It is not realistic to expect Turkey to conduct a ground operation on its own,” which means the country that has troops within miles of the fighting in the city of Kobani is going to sit by and do nothing. But the moment ISIS ventures into Turkish territory, $#!% is gonna go down. At this point, no one thinks ISIS could stand up to the Turkish military, and I would argue ISIS knows this. So Turkey is off-limits. No reaching Armenia that way except by force, which is a dumb idea. Iran is in even less of a position to deal with ISIS. If it moved
into Iraq or Syria to combat ISIS, it wouldn’t be taken so positively by the Israelis, leading to a whole other conflict. And if Iran lets ISIS through, which I literally cannot even imagine happening, it would kill talks between Iran and the U.S. regarding nuclear programs and economic sanctions. So ISIS is blocked through Iran. Right now ISIS thrives in chaos, and with no international ground effort to stop them, the areas it occupies continue to be a hotbed for its growing numbers. But this chaos is in some ways contained to the north and east by borders to larger, more stable regions. It succeeds where it is because one country is already so destabilized it can hardly be called a country anymore, and the other is so woefully unprepared for a fight that it’s making France look good (zing! but also too far?). Outside of these places, we have yet to see how ISIS operates, and I would be surprised if it took a major chance like that in the near future, or at all. There is little reason for ISIS to
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expand north in the direction of Armenia. As for worries of destabilization efforts in Iran and Turkey, take a look at how Turkey reacted to protestors in its capital, when it killed 19 of them. And if you think a Shia-dominated Iran would let a Sunni organization like ISIS destabilize within its borders, then you know very little about other faiths and should educate yourself. Knowing about other faiths is good for the soul, man. It would take years for ISIS to become big and bold enough to move north toward Armenia, and I doubt the international community would ever let it get that large, despite its current reluctance to act. Right now, Armenia remains the small little Christian country it is. And that is hopefully how it will stay. This is Zachary Antoyan, wishing he didn’t waste the ISISILISIS joke on the first column of this year. Would you even remember? Probably not… but I would. Have a good week.
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Monday, October 20, 2014
SPORTS | 8
Volleyball falls to conference powerhouse Long Beach State
CHRISTA L AM | MUSTANG NE WS NO DIGGITY | Despite 73 digs and 14 blocks, the Cal Poly volleyball team lost to Long Beach State in four sets. The 49ers are currently undeafeated in Big West Conference play, while the Mustangs are 2-5 in conference.
Harry Chang @CPMustangSports
The Cal Poly volleyball team (710, 2-5 Big West Conference) dropped the second match of its two-game homestand Saturday evening at Mott Athletics Center, losing to Long Beach State 3-1. The 49ers, who came into the match undefeated in conference play, were not untested as the Mustangs came out with a gritty first-set win and kept things tight until late in the fourth set. “Obviously it didn’t end in our favor, but there were some
real positives and I think it was a pretty good performance overall,” head coach Sam Crosson said. The Mustangs stopped Long Beach State’s potent attack from any big leads in the first set and received key blocks to position themselves for the set win. After pulling even at 26-26 on a kill by freshman middle back Caihla Petiprin, the Mustangs were able to force two attacking errors on the 49ers to clinch the set. Long Beach State began to get into a rhythm in the second set, however, leading almost
all the way and coming into form defensively. The Mustangs struggled to respond to big plays as the 49ers’ sizable front wall put the Mustangs on their heels both offensively and defensively. “I definitely think our communication was different in the second,” junior libero Nicole Kessler said. “We weren’t talking as much, we weren’t getting as excited. They went on a couple runs and that threw us off a bit.” Long Beach State continued its strong performance in the third set, winning by 10 points. In the fourth set, Cal Poly came
out of the break with more energy and kept the 49ers from opening the kind of lead they were able to in the third. “I try and tell the team that each set is a new game,” Crosson said. “It doesn’t matter whether we got beat by a ton last set or just barely let it get away, it’s still going to feel the same. So I told them forget about last set, forget about next set, just focus on this one.” However, unforced errors, as well as Long Beach State’s impressive blocking, continued to be the story late in the fourth, as the Mustangs’ late rally was
stifled and the 49ers were able to take the set, and the match, with a 25-20 win. “They’re a big team and a great team,” sophomore middle blocker Taylor Gruenewald said. “They’ve got a fast middle and a big block up there, and all I was trying to do was get up there and swing as hard as I could. Overall, though, I think we proved it’s someone we can definitely compete with.” The match was a big test for Cal Poly, a team still searching for an identity. “Tempo kind of defines our team,” Gruenewald said. “We
run our offense really fast and that throws off the other team’s blockers, but we need to figure out how to hit the ball harder. Overall, though, I think we’re improving.” The Mustangs look ahead to what promises to be another tough match as the team travels to fourth-place Hawai’i on Friday. “We need to figure out how to be more consistent,” Kessler said. “I think on teams like this, where we’re still learning where we stand, going against good teams like tonight can help show ourselves that we can compete at a high level.”