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What 2 Watch 4
Sporting an even 60-60 (.500) record in non-conference play, The Big West readies for league play with preseason favorite Cal Poly (7-4) one game on top in the standings. The Mustangs start their conference schedule on the road against CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield, with defending regular-season champion UC Santa Barbara playing the same pairing.
UC Davis, UC Riverside and Hawai’i join the Matadors and Roadrunners as hosts for a pair of contests this weekend, with Cal State Fullerton welcoming UC Irvine on Tuesday night to serve up the action in their lone match of Week 1.
Seven of The Big West’s 11 teams enter league competition at or above .500 in the standings and as a conference, the league outperformed the 2023 results by nearly eight percentage points.
Nine of the week’s 11 games on the docket are set to air on ESPN+. Check listings for specific match information.
Last Week, Today
The Big West closed out the non-conference segment of the 2024 season with winning weeks from CSUN, UC Riverside, Cal Poly, Long Beach State and UC Davis.
Player of the Week honors went to representatives from four member-institutions:
Offensive Player of the Week
Caylen Alexander, Hawai’i
Alexander put away 61 kills, averaging 4.69 per set, over three matches on the road to remain among the nation’s leaders and go back-to-back for weekly honors. The Alpharetta, Ga., native continues to lead The Big West with 229 total kills (4.98 per set) and 253.5 points (5.51 per set). The kills average ranks fourth in NCAA Division I with the points average is sixth.
Defensive Player of the Week
Jessica Dean, UC Riverside
Dean recorded 5.0 digs and 1.27 assists per set to earn All-Tournament honors at the Pelican Invitational in New Orleans and anchor the Highlanders’ defense in a successful 3-1 weekend. The junior libero notched 20 digs, two service aces and nine assists in a 3-1 win over Louisiana Tech on Friday and finished off the Highlanders’ trip to New Orleans with 13 digs in a 3-0 sweep of Arkansas Pine Bluff.
Setter of the Week
Katie Kolar, CSUN
Kolar averaged 10.0 assists per set as CSUN swept through California Baptist before falling in five to Washington State and taking down Portland twice. Kolar also added 13 kills from the setter spot. The sophomore from Norman, Okla., posted a fifth double-double of the season with 45 assists to go along with 15 digs in Friday’s five-set win over Portland to highlight the week.
Freshman of the Week
Eva Travis, UC Santa Barbara
Travis earned MVP honors at the K-State Invitational after averaging 4.33 kills and 5.17 points per set in sweeps of Kansas State and Oklahoma. Against the Wildcats, the redshirt freshman outside hitter contributed a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs. In the sweep of the Sooners, Travis swung for 13 kills complemented by three service aces.
Around the League
- UC Davis (6-5) - The Aggies enjoyed a banner night on Thursday, defeating UCLA 3-1 on the home court for the program’s first win over the Bruins. Ally Chandler finished with six kills on .385 hitting with two digs with Mia Starr hitting .667 with four kills while setting the UC Davis offense with 32 assists in the contest.
- Cal Poly (7-4) - Tommi Stockham continues to pace the squad and was named to the Shocker Volleyball Classic All-Tournament team after a 2-1 weekend for the Mustangs to rise to the top of the standings. The redshirt senior outside hitter averaged 3.07 kills and 2.57 digs per set with eight aces as the team picked up wins against Omaha and Northern Colorado.
- Long Beach State (6-4) - The Beach went 2-1 at the LBSU Tournament with wins against Washington State and Pepperdine to close out non-conference play. Ella Lomigora hit an incredible .634 over three matches, knocking down 28 kills on 41 swings while committing just two attack errors. Lomigora finished the week averaging 2.55 kills per set, while also posting 0.82 blocks per set.
- Hawai’i (6-4) - The Rainbow Wahine dropped their first three road matches of the season, at UNLV, at then-No. 8 Texas and then-No. 20 Baylor to close out non-conference play. Caylen Alexander averaged 4.69 kills per set including a match-high 20-kill effort in a four-set loss to the Longhorns.
UC Riverside (5-8) - The Highlanders went 3-1 at the Pelican Invitational with Carissa Wiles hitting .407 with 43 total kills in 15 sets on the court. With the weekend-capping sweep of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Highlanders posted the program’s most non-conference wins since 2018 and matched 2023’s overall win total.
- Cal State Fullerton (4-7) - The Titans split a pair of matches at the Big West/WAC Showdown and Lolo Fonua was named to the All-Tournament Team with double-digit kills in both three-set matches and was joined by setter Ashley Chacon with tournament honors. Cal State Fullerton has already doubled 2023’s final win tally.
- CSUN (5-6) - The Matadors went 3-1 in a four-match home week, sweeping California Baptist and taking two from Portland. Katie Kolar set up the offense while averaging 10.0 assist per week with Paige Sentes anchoring the defense with 4.47 digs per set and 10 service aces.
- Cal State Bakersfield (6-6) - The Roadrunners picked up a road win at Fresno State on Sunday, outlasting the Bulldogs in the 3-2 battle. Sydney Dunnng finished with 19 kills and 10 digs in the match with Katerina Georgiadis closing with a 22-dig, 11-assist double-double.
- UC Irvine (6-5) - The Anteaters split games against GCU and California Baptist, sweeping through the Lancers. Hunter Riedl put down 13 kills on .435 hitting with three aces in the victory and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
- UC San Diego (6-5) - The Tritons’ offense has been going through Eva McInnes, who is chasing UCSD program records. With 1,324 career kills, McInnes is 40 away from second in the record books and 200 away from tying for the top spot.
- UC Santa Barbara (4-8) - The road trip to Kansas for the Gauchos was a fruitful one, sweeping through two Power 4 opponents in Kansas State and Oklahoma. Eva Travis was named MVP of the K-State Invitational after averaging 4.33 kills and 5.17 points per set with Harper Hall serving as the primary setter in the 6-2 offense with 8.00 assists per set.
Welcome to The Big West
Three new head coaches come into the fold, with Long Beach State being led by Natalie Reagan, UC San Diego tapping Melanie Greene to the first chair and CSUN bringing in Aquiles Montoya to lead the program.
On the Beach bench as assistant in 2023, Reagan previously led Harvard-Westlake to the California State Championship and has experience assisting at LMU, Nebraska and alma mater Oregon State. Before being tapped to head the Tritons, the San Diego native Greene had been involved in the San Diego State program – both as a coach and as a student-athlete – since 2004. Montoya's path to CSUN came by way of the Pacific Northwest, with stints on the staff at Portland State, Pacific (DIII), and Portland.
Officially Official
After completing a four-year reclassification process from Division II, UC San Diego is now fully eligible for The Big West and national postseason in all sports, beginning in 2024-25.
Beach vs. ’Bows on ESPNU
The Big West will be part of the robust women’s volleyball linear broadcasting coverage on the ESPN family networks, when Long Beach State hosts Hawai’i at Walter Pyramid on Saturday, Oct. 5. First serve on ESPNU is slated for 7:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. HT.
The contest will be a rematch of the inaugural 2023 Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship finale, where No. 2 seed UH got the best of fourth-seeded host LBSU, 3-0. The crowd of 2,237 fans stood as the highest 2023 Division I women’s volleyball conference championship final match attendance.
2024 Preseason Prognostications
With a tight race to the top of the tally and four teams recording first-place votes, the Cal Poly Mustangs have been picked to claim the Big West crown, according to the league’s 11 head coaches.
The Mustangs recorded 94 total points and five first-place votes in the 2024 Big West Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll to sail to the top of the standings, nine points clear of closest competitor and 2023 Big West Championship victor, Hawai’i.
Cal Poly retains five starters from the 2023 season and over 90 percent of their production in kills, sets, and blocks highlighted Big West Preseason Coaches’ Team selection Tommi Stockham. The redshirt senior outside hitter is attempting to become just the second Mustang and 14th player in Big West history to make the Four-Time First Team list in 2024. The Mustangs are seeking a first Big West title since 2018.
Second in the polling with 85 points and three first-place votes is the Rainbow Wahine, winners of the inaugural Big West Championship and NCAA participant in 30 consecutive seasons, since 1993. The ‘Bows have won four straight Big West titles, claiming the regular-season crown in 2019, ’21 and ’22 to go along with last season’s win as the No. 2 seed in The Big West bracket.
Hawai’i owns two spots on the Preseason All-Big West team in 2022 Big West Setter of the Year Kate Lang and junior outside hitter Caylen Alexander.
Long Beach State also boasts two preseason picks in 2023 Setter of the Year Zayna Meyer and senior outside hitter Natalie Glenn.
The Beach are just two points behind UH in the final tally after the 2023 runners-up clocked 83 points and two first-place votes.
Defending regular-season victor and NCAA participant UC Santa Barbara comes in fourth in the polling with 75 total points and the final first-place nod.
UC San Diego is slotted in fifth with 63 points and see senior Ava McInnes earn the preseason team nod. The final member of the Big West Preseason Coaches’ Team is UC Davis senior opposite hitter Olivia Utterback.
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