After a thrilling day of competition to close the regular season, the bracket for The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2024 Outrigger Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship is set. In its second season of having a postseason conference event, the Championship will be contested at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, Calif., from Nov. 27-30.
Entering the day with a three-way tie at the top of the standings, all six seeds and two spots still to be determined in the bracket, UC Irvine and UC San Diego played themselves into the field and Cal Poly emerged at the top of the standings to cap the league slate with gusto.
Earning a bye into the semifinal round by virtue of an impressive five-set win over UC Davis on the final day of competition, Cal Poly (21-8, 14-4 BW) is The Big West regular-season champion and the No. 1 seed in next week’s postseason bracket. The Mustangs claimed their first regular-season title since 2018 and their sixth overall.
The Mustangs will tussle with the victor of the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup between 2023 runner-up Long Beach State (18-10, 12-6 BW) and fifth-seeded UC San Diego (17-12, 11-7 BW). After completing their four-year reclassification to Division I, the 2024-25 season marks the first opportunity for UC San Diego to compete in The Big West postseason in all sports. The Beach dispatched the Tritons twice in the regular season with the most recent meeting coming on Nov. 12, a 3-1 decision.
The No. 2 seed belongs to defending Champion Hawai’i (19-9, 13-5 BW) by virtue of holding the tiebreaker over third-seeded UC Davis (18-9, 13-5 BW). While the two split the regular-season series, Hawai’i notched a pair of victories over the Mustangs to retain the second spot and earn a first-round bye.
The Rainbow Wahine will take on the winner between the Aggies and No. 6 seed and host UC Irvine (16-13, 10-8 BW) in Friday’s second semifinal.
UC Irvine clawed their way into the bracket after downing Hawai’i in Saturday’s Senior Night contest and owning the tiebreaker over first-team-out UC Santa Barbara (14-6, 10-8 BW). While the two teams tied their regular-season series, 1-1, and both dropped a pair of matches to regular-season champion Cal Poly, the Anteaters were able to defeat Hawai’i twice to edge into the bracket.
Meeting just once in the regular season, UC Davis claimed a 3-1 victory at the Bren back on Oct. 24.
First round competition begins on Wednesday, Nov. 27, with games at 3 and 6 p.m. Following a break in the action for the Thanksgiving holiday, the semifinals are set for Friday at 3 and 6 p.m. from Court 21. The Big West’s champion will be crowned on Saturday, Nov. 30, with first serve slated for 5 p.m.
Every game of The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2024 Outrigger Women’s Volleyball Championship will be produced by Earl Miller Productions and aired on ESPN+ with Rob Espero, Madison Fitzpatrick and Chloë Clark providing the coverage from Irvine during Thanksgiving Week. To purchase tickets single-game or all-session tickets to the Championship, visit
BigWest.org/wvbtix.
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS PRESENTS THE 2024 OUTRIGGER BIG WEST WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Bren Events Center | Irvine, Calif.
First Round - Wednesday, Nov. 27
3 p.m. | No. 4 seed Long Beach State vs. No. 5 seed UC San Diego
6 p.m. | No. 3 seed UC Davis vs. No. 6 seed UC Irvine
Semifinals - Friday, Nov. 29
3 p.m. | No. 1 seed Cal Poly vs. No. 4/5 winner
6 p.m. | No. 2 seed Hawai’i vs. No. 3/6 winner
Final - Saturday, Nov. 30
5 p.m. | Championship