Pomona Is Making Mark in Volleyball

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s volleyball team has become a major power in NCAA Division II this season under the direction of new Coach Gene Krieger.

The Broncos, who have risen to No. 6 in the country with a 21-5 record, have already surpassed last year’s victory total of 16 games and are possibly the most surprising team in the division this year. But judging from Krieger’s resume, this overnight success should not come as a complete surprise.

In his collegiate coaching career, Krieger was 43-23 in two years at Warner Pacific in Oregon, 56-21 in two years at Western Oregon State, 24-12 in one season at Westmont in Santa Barbara and 64-17 the last two years at Cal Baptist in Riverside. He has a winning percentage of .727.

His greatest success came last year when Cal Baptist placed fifth in the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics tournament. Krieger hadn’t planned to leave Cal Baptist, and when the coaching position at Cal Poly Pomona opened last spring, he didn’t even submit an application.

“It was late, and I didn’t know if that’s what I really wanted,” Krieger said. “So, my wife applied for me. I guess she should get some of the credit.”

Krieger said he was surprised when a Cal Poly Pomona athletic department official called him to set up an interview. “I got a call from them, and I wasn’t really expecting anything,” he said. “I just took it real easy and I was very relaxed.”

It was during his fifth interview that Krieger realized he was the front-runner. “I wondered if they had interviewed anyone else that many times,” he said. “I didn’t even know if I was a serious candidate, and then the next thing I know I got offered the job.”

Krieger, who also operates a mortgage brokerage in Corona, said the position with the Broncos is not full time, but his salary is about 10 times higher than it was at Cal Baptist. “It affords me the luxury of being able to enjoy my coaching job and still have another job to fall back on,” he said.

“It’s been a good thing for me and the team. I’ve fit right in here, and the girls like my (coaching) style.”

Regarded as a strong motivator, Krieger credits his success to what he calls “the Tommy Lasorda approach,” adding: “I’m just playing the role of (Dodger Manager) Tommy Lasorda. I just keep pumping them up and telling them they can win.”

He said his philosophy focuses on hard work and good values. “I tell (the team) you can beat 50% of your opponents just by working hard, another 40% by working hard and having good values and the other 10% comes down to who wants it the most,” he said.

“I coach a lot from the neck up, not from the neck down. Success sometimes is a lot more mental than physical. If the team has enough aspiration, then they will be more prepared for the perspiration that follows.”

But Krieger gives his players credit for their success. “I do the talking, but they do the execution and provide the necessary peer-pressure leadership,” he said.

Cal Poly Pomona is winning primarily because of the improved play of sophomore outside hitter Alicia Burns, who is approaching the school record of 83 service aces set by Clara Piersma in 1984; senior middle blockers Linda Tschasar and Kim Schaeffer and senior outside hitter Jody Fee.

It wasn’t until the Broncos defeated two top-10 Division II teams, West Texas State and UC Davis, in the Cal State Los Angeles tournament last month that they started to receive respect in the rankings. They also played well in losses to top-ranked Sacramento State and third-ranked UC Riverside.

“When we went into the Cal State Los Angeles tournament, our goal was to beat a ranked team,” Krieger said. “We were 13-2 going into the tournament, but I told the team that we hadn’t beaten a ranked team. Now, since we’ve beaten a few of the teams that we have recently, I think we’ve shown that we’re for real.”

True to form, Krieger is using the team’s early success as a motivational tool for the rest of the season.

“It’s important to tell the team that nobody mistakes success today for success in the future,” he said. “I told the team they got an A-plus in the preseason, and now they have to work on getting a good grade in the conference season.”

After five weeks of the regular season, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has emerged as the only undefeated college division football team in the Southland.

The Mustangs, No. 7 in NCAA Division II, improved to 5-0 with a 19-0 victory over UC Davis Saturday at Davis.

Cal Poly SLO will try to equal its best start since 1987 when it plays host to Sacramento State in a Western Football Conference game Saturday night.

Two other Southland teams, 4-1 Redlands and 3-1 Pomona-Pitzer, saw their undefeated streaks end. Redlands lost to San Francisco State, 27-21, and Pomona-Pitzer was beaten by University of San Diego, 21-17.

Cal State Northridge and Azusa Pacific have also started the season with 4-1 records. Northridge, ranked No. 15 in Division II, pulled out a last-minute 19-18 victory over 11th-ranked Portland State, and Azusa Pacific defeated Whittier, 34-11.

College Division Notes

In addition to sixth-ranked Cal Poly Pomona, three other teams in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. are listed in the Division II women’s volleyball rankings: UC Riverside (No. 3), Cal State Bakersfield (5) and Chapman (14). . . . Three CCAA teams are among the top 11 in the NCAA Division II cross-country rankings: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (3), Cal Poly Pomona (6) and UC Riverside (11). . . . Sherwin Durham, who played point guard for Southern California College in 1984 and ‘85, has signed with the Harlem Globetrotters.