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What 2 Watch 4
Big West conference matches get underway on Thursday at Cal State Bakersfield (4-8) hosts CSUN (2-9) at the Icardo Center to serve things up.
Then, Friday the current league leaders UC Santa Barbara (10-2) travel to UC San Diego (8-4) as the top two teams heading into league play tussle to highlight to start of the weekend.
The Tritons join Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, Long Beach State and Hawai’i in hosting a pair of matches on the home hardwood.
After the date with UCSD, the Gauchos take on Long Beach State (6-4), one of six Big West sides to finish non-conference play with a .500 or better record.
Idle last weekend, UC Davis takes on the Titans and Anteaters as the string of away games continue for the Aggies, the long Big West side yet to play at home this season.
All 11 Big West contests are set to air on ESPN+ this week. Check listings for specific match information.
Last Week, Today
- UC San Diego ran its streak to four straight after recording a trio of wins at the TSU/Belmont Invitational. Ava McInnes picked up tournament MVP after averaging 4.92 kills and 5.63 points per set for the Tritons. McInnes was also named Big West Offensive Player of the Week for the efforts. Also earning acclaim was Big West Freshman of the Week Lauren Brooker. The first-year player from Calabasas, Calif., averaged 2.00 kills, 1.67 assists and 1.75 digs per set as UCSD defeated Tennessee State, Jackson State and Belmont in Nashville. Sophomore middle blocker Jasmine Saran was also named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Brooker and McInnes. Closing the non-conference segment of the schedule at 8-4 (.667), UC San Diego has its best non-league winning percentage since joining NCAA Division I in 2020.
- UC Santa Barbara went 2-1 in Iowa and picked up an impressive 3-1 victory over No. 23 Iowa State in their opening match of the Cyclone Invitational. The win over a ranked team is the first for the Gauchos program since 2016, and the first win against a ranked program on the road since 2013. Senior Michelle Ohwobete paced the way with 19 kills on .415 hitting and nine digs. Briana McKnight anchored the defense with a career-high 20 digs against the Cyclones. After dropping their middle match of the weekend to Drake, UC Santa Barbara rebounded to dispatch Ohio, 3-1.
- Long Beach State went 3-0 in the Wildcat Classic, posting victories against host Arizona, Alabama State and New Mexico State. Junior Elise Agi got the start against the Wildcats and recorded a 10-kill 11-dig double-double in the sweep, and followed it up with a career high 19 kills with 10 digs and five blocks against New Mexico State. Junior libero Savana Chacon anchored the Beach defense while averaging 5.00 digs per set to claim Big West Defensive Player of the Week. Chacon and the LBSU defense held their opponents to a .151 attack percentage in the non-conference finale weekend.
- Hawai’i went 2-1 in their first road trip of the season, dropping a match to host TCU in the Fight for the Fort before posting wins against Western Carolina and Florida State. Amber Igiede led the team in kills per set (4.90), hitting percentage (.500) and total blocks (12.0) on the weekend, highlighted by a match-high 21 kills on .625 hitting in a three-set sweep of Western Carolina. Kate Lang continued to cruise to weekly hardware, claiming Setter of the Week for the fourth time this season, and a fifth consecutive award. Lang averaged an impressive 13.40 assists per set in the tournament in her home state of Texas.
- UC Riverside claimed its first win of the season at the Dr. Pam Littleton Classic. Transfer Sophia Ewalefo put up three consecutive performances of 15 kills or more to lead the Highlanders including a match-high 15 win the victory over Texas Southern. It was Ewalefo’s first appearance since Sept. 1.
Poll Position
The Rainbow Wahine have received votes or better in each AVCA/Taraflex Division I Coaches’ Poll issued thus far in 2023. In the current edition, Hawai’i received 14 votes, which would place UH in 36th nationally.
Triple-Double Time
After recording a conferece-best six triple-doubles in 2022, CSUN setter Carisa Barron notched a first of the 2023 campaign on Sept. 1. The junior from Bakersfield, Calif., recorded 13 kills, 21 assists and 12 digs in a five-set loss at Fresno State. Baron fell one kill shy of the triple in another five-setter at Portland on Sept. 8.
Road Trippin’
The Big West played women’s volleyball in 15 states during the non-conference segment of the schedule. Teams have competed in Arizona, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington, along with in-state play in California and Hawai’i in 2023.
Preseason Prognostications
The Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine have been selected to go for four in a row to repeat as Big West champions in the 2023 Big West Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll, according to a vote of the league’s 11 head coaches.
Conference victors in five of the last seven contested seasons, Hawai’i (22-7, 19-1 BW) topped the polling with a maximum 100 points and 10 first-place votes.
The 2022 Big West runners-up UC Santa Barbara (20-10, 16-4 BW) are again slotted in second, compiling 83 total points in the voting. The Gauchos hold the slimmest of margins over third pick Long Beach State (19-9, 14-6 BW) and fourth-place vote-getter Cal Poly (17-13, 14-6 BW) with one point separating each place. The Beach received the other first-place vote from the coaches, tallying 82 points.
With 61 points, UC Davis took fifth and is followed in the polling by UC Irvine (54 points). Should the preseason prognostications ring true, the Anteaters will claim the sixth and final spot in the inaugural 2023 Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship, set for Nov. 22-25 from Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid.
An eight-player Preseason All-Big West Team was also named with four of the league’s major award winners from 2022 dotting the list.
The group includes the Hawai’i trio of third-team All-American Amber Igiede (Player of the Year), Kate Lang (Setter of the Year), and Caylen Alexander (Freshman of the Year). UC Santa Barbara boasts Macall Peed (Libero of the Year) and Michelle Ohwobete to the team. Zayna Meyer (Long Beach State), Tommi Stockham (Cal Poly), and Olivia Utterback (UC Davis) round out the preseason team.
Made for TV
The Big West will be part of the robust women’s volleyball linear broadcasting coverage on the ESPN family networks on Friday, Sept. 29 as Long Beach State women’s volleyball hosts defending champion Hawai’i at Walter Pyramid.
First serve for the ESPNU telecast between the Beach and Rainbow Wahine is slated for 7 p.m. PT. Last season, Hawai’i took wins in both meetings and currently sport a streak of 11 straight victories in the regular season series.
As part of ESPN’s industry-leading coverage of women’s sports, more than 2,500 women’s volleyball matches are set for ESPN platforms this fall – the most in ESPN history. Additionally, over 125 women’s volleyball broadcasts across The Big West landscape will also be available to fans through ESPN+. Read more >>>
Debut Postseason Prompts Schedule Shuffle
The upcoming Big West women’s volleyball season will feature a new unbalanced schedule of 18 matches to accommodate the addition of the 2023 Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship. The 2021 and 2022 women’s volleyball slates were both full 20-match double-round robins. However, this fall, all 11 matchups in Week 5 between Tuesday-Saturday, Oct. 17-21, will mark the lone meetings of the season between those squads to get the schedule to 18 conference dates.
2022 Postseason Rewind
Despite a strong start, The Big West champion and No. 8 seed Hawai’i fell to LSU, 3-1, in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship, halting a 12-match winning streak for the Rainbow Wahine.
This marked a milestone 40th appearance in the NCAA postseason for Hawai’i, and 29th in a row without taking into consideration the 2020 edition when The Big West did not compete in fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rainbow Wahine are now 82-37 (.689) in NCAA Championship matches, with three national titles in 1982, 1983 and 1987, all under the legendary Dave Shoji, the predecessor to reigning Big West Coach of the Year Robyn Ah Mow. Those three crowns rank tied for fifth all-time with USC and fellow Big West member Long Beach State.
Only three programs have qualified for more NCAA Division I tournaments than the Rainbow Wahine, with seven-time national champion Penn State a perfect 42-for-42 in all-time selections, 2021 runner-up and five-time champion Nebraska earning its 41st successive berth since missing the inaugural one, and record nine-time champ Stanford also a 41-time entrant with its only miss in 2020.
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