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What 2 Watch 4
UC Davis (13-5, 9-1 BW) continues to lead the league, but saw their streak of 10 straight halted by Cal Poly (17-5, 8-2 BW) who inched up a line in the standings. The Aggies look to get back to their winning ways with a pair of early-week home matches hosting UC Riverside Tuesday and Hawai’i on Thursday.
Cal Poly hits the road for contests at Cal State Bakersfield and CSUN this week with Long Beach State (15-6, 8-2 BW) taking on Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine. The Mustangs and Beach are one game back from the Aggies and sit one game ahead of UC Santa Barbara (15-7, 7-3 BW).
The Gauchos are away at CSUN at Cal State Bakersfield, who both host a pair along with UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton. UC San Diego, UC Riverside and Long Beach State have the split weekend as the action in second half of the league slate heats up.
Ten of 11 matchups on the week’s docket are set to air on ESPN+. Check listings for specific match information.
Last Week, Today
• UC Irvine’s Jade Light surpassed the 1,000 career kill mark, joining CSUN’s Amaris Smith with four-digit distinctions.
• Player of the Week honors went to first-time winners Kendall Beshear (offensive) of Cal Poly and UC Irvine’s Nicole Feliciano (setter) with Anteater Campbell Jensen (defensive) and Long Beach State first-year player Logan King (freshman) rounding out the honorees. Read more >>>
The Big West in the Rankings
• Cal Poly, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara all find themselves in the national Top 25 in various statistical categories, with the Aggies’ defense allowing opponents to hit a paltry 0.149 this season, which ranks seventh in Division 1.
• Two student-athletes dot the individual listings, both in the Top 25 in hitting percentage. UC Santa Barbara’s Layanna Green again holds strong at 10th hitting .428 on the year with Ally Chandler of UC Davis in 23rd with a .405 hitting percentage for the current league leaders.
• Four teams find themselves in the top 100 in the latest RPI rankings, paced by UC Davis at No. 55.
Weekly Roundup
Cal Poly (17-5, 8-2 BW)
The Mustangs notched a pair of wins to extend their streak to five, downing UC Riverside in three before handing UC Davis their first loss in league play in a four-setter. Big West Offensive Player of the Week, Kendall Beshear’s week was highlighted by 18 kills, 13 digs and three blocks against the Aggies. Redshirt senior setter Emme Bullis averaged 11.00 assists per set directing the offensive while Elif Hurriyet was the leading defensive threat with 4.43 digs per set as their opponents hit under .100 in both matches.
CSUN (13-8, 6-4 BW)
The Matadors picked up a pair of victories with junior Julia Bazylevych leading the way with 16 kills in each match as CSUN defeated Long Beach State in five before picking up the four-set road win at UC San Diego. Paige Sentes averaged 4.22 digs per set with a 22-dig, 10-assist double-double against the Tritons. Sitting in fifth in the league standings, CSUN is looking to make their first Big West postseason field.
UC Irvine (9-13, 4-6 BW)
The Anteaters enjoyed a two-win week, sweeping through Hawai’i at Cal State Fullerton. The victory against the Rainbow Wahine stands as just their fourth in program history. Big West Setter of the Week Nicole Feliciano guided the offense as the team hit a season-high .317 with just eight errors in the big win over the ’Bows. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Ally Bolden was impressive with 3.33 kills and 1.50 blocks per set. Against UH, Bolden hit .615 with eight kills on 13 attempts and no errors. Big West Defensive Player of the Week Campbell Jensen averaged 5.67 digs over six sets as the UCI defense limited Hawai’i to -.041 hitting while the Titans managed a .000 percentage.
Split ‘Em Up
• Five teams saw a 1-1 record on the weekend: Cal State Bakersfield, Hawai’i, Long Beach State, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara.
• Cal State Bakersfield’s win came against UC San Diego, taking down the Tritons in four sets. Three `Runners reached double figure kills with Nicole Zake’s 20 leading the match. Luiza Da Cruz finished with 48 assists and 10 digs for the double-double outing.
• Hawai’i took down Cal State Fullerton in a three-setter as freshman Cha’lei Reid fueled the comeback in the first set to close with 14 kills and 12 digs in the match. The second set was a marathon with the final score at 30-28 in favor of UH.
• Big West Freshman of the Week Logan King led Long Beach to the split in a pair of five-setters, falling at CSUN before defeating Cal State Bakersfield. King averaged 3.80 kills per set on .403 hitting en route to a fifth weekly honor.
• UC Davis pulled off a five-set victory against UC Santa Barbara before suffering their first defeat in league play at Cal Poly. Breeze Czapinski finished with 18 kills and five blocks while Ximena Cordero Barr scooped up 26 digs with five assists in the comeback win against the Gauchos.
• UC Santa Barbara’s win came against UC Riverside with Kiersten Schmitt went off for a career-high 17 kills against the Highlanders. Freshman Gabi Martinez finished with a team-best 18 kills with a season-high 15 digs in the match.
The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Women's Volleyball Championship
All-session tickets are available now to watch some of the premier teams in the West compete for the league's automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball National Championship field. Make plans to join us at Walter Pyramid from Nov. 26-29 in Long Beach, and secure your seats today >>>
POWERful
The Big West notched Power-4 wins over multiple foes this non-conference, including two over California (ACC) with Cal Poly and UC Davis taking down the Bears. UC Santa Barbara downed Kansas State from the Big 12 as the Mustangs swept through No. 20 Utah Big West teams also took two from the SEC with Cal Poly defeating Arkansas on the road and UC Santa Barbara taking care of Vanderbilt.
Non-Conference Kudos
The Big West finished non-conference action with an overall mark of 58-64 (.475) with five teams at or above .500 heading into league action. Of the 23 conferences played, The Big West sports even or winning records against 10 conferences, including the SEC (2-2), WCC (13-10) and Big Sky (11-8).
Welcome to The Big West
Three new head coaches to the league will be patrolling The Big West sidelines. Branden Higa comes to UC Riverside from crosstown rival and future Big West opponent California Baptist. A rebuilding Cal State Bakersfield side will feature co-interim head coaches in Felipe Nogueira and Cinthia Angus, both members of the Roadrunners’ 2024 staff. A new, but familiar, face will also be at the helm for Cal State Fullerton as program alumna and former assistant coach Nicky Cannon returns to the Titans.
Preseason Prognostications
The top two teams from a season ago are set atop the 2025 Big West Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll with a razor thin margin separating defending Championship victor Hawai’i and 2024 regular-season champion Cal Poly.
UH was picked to win the crown in their final season of full Big West membership, accumulating 94 total points and five first-place picks in a vote by the league’s 11 head coaches. Just two points behind and also garnering five first-place nods is Cal Poly at 92 total points, setting up the potential for another battle between the Mustangs and the Rainbow Wahine for The Big West’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championship field.
The two teams have separated themselves from the next grouping in the standings by nearly 20 points and combine to see three players on the seven-person Big West Preseason Coaches’ Team in Emme Bullis, Chloe Leluge and Bri Gunderson. Read more >>>
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