|
What 2 Watch 4
The Big West is down to two remaining teams without a loss in league play as Long Beach State and UC Davis raced through the second week of play with a pair of victories. The Beach are riding an eight-match winning streak and hitting the road this week to UC Riverside and UC Davis. The Aggies first play UC San Diego before welcoming LBSU for an 11 o’clock contest on Saturday. No matter what happens earlier in the week, the league will be down to one unbeaten by Saturday afternoon.
Along with UC Davis playing host, Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside and UC Irvine are home twice with Hawai’i Cal Poly taking to the home court once. For the Titans, the home weekend against CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield will be the first home contests of the 2025 campaign.
All told, eight of this week’s matches are set to air on ESPN+. Check listings for specific match information.
Last Week, Today
• Player of the Week honors went to a trio who have guided their teams to a 4-0 start to season play: Long Beach State’s Logan King (offensive and freshman), and the UC Davis duo of Ximena Cordero Barr and Mia Starr (setter) claiming awards. Read more >>>
The Big West in the Rankings
• Cal Poly, Long Beach State, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara both find themselves in the national Top 25 in various statistical categories, with the Aggies’ defense allowing opponents to hit a paltry 0.154 this season, which ranks 11th in Division 1.
• Four student-athletes dot the listings with Ally Chandler improving the hitting average this week to leap up to 16th (.416 to .432). UC Santa Barbara’s Layanna Green (0.414 - 23rd) is also swinging at an effective clip.
Week 2 Winners
Long Beach State (11-4, 4-0 BW)
The Beach ran their winning streak to eight matches after knocking off UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly in four sets after both the Gauchos and Mustangs entered the week previously unbeaten in league play. Big West Offensive Player of the Week Logan King averaged 4.88 points, 4.38 kills and 2.25 digs per set to power LBSU on the attack with Rhiann Sheffie adding a block a set on defense. King was also tabbed as Big West Freshman of the Week for the efforts. Setter Madi Maxwell’s week was highlighted by a 34-assist, 19-dig double-double against the Mustangs, a new career high in digs. The Beach are now 4-0 in Big West play for the first time since 2014.
UC Davis (8-4, 4-0 BW)
Playing their first home matches of the 2025 campaign, UC Davis swept through Cal State Fullerton and defeated UC Irvine in four sets to remain in the ranks of the unbeaten through the first two weeks of league action. Ally Chandler was stalwart on both offense and defense, putting up six blocks against the Titans on Thursday and going for a season-high 14 kills against the Anteaters on Saturday. Ximena Cordero Barr went back-to-back for Big West Defensive Player of the Week after scooping up an impressive 7.86 digs per set with a career-high 35 coming against UCI. Mia Starr took home the nod for Big West Setter of the Week after averaging an eye-popping 12.00 assists per set in the wins. This is just the third time that the Aggies have opened conference play with a 4-0 record.
CSUN (9-6, 2-2 BW)
The Matadors enjoyed a fruitful week, first downing Cal State Bakersfield on the road in four before heading home to sweep through Hawai’i. The three-set victory against the Rainbow Wahine is the program’s first since 2014. Senior Amaris Smith was CSUN’s top hitter, averaging 4.14 kills per set on .356 hitting. Junior Iye Okolo was a force on defense, compiling 10 total blocks on the week with six coming against UH.
Split ‘Em Up
• Five teams saw a 1-1 record on the weekend: Hawai’i, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.
• The Tritons’ victory came on Friday as UC San Diego handed Cal Poly their first conference loss of the season. Molly McCluskey was instrumental in the sweep of the Mustangs, finishing with 16 kills on .361 hitting and seven digs in the match.
• UC Santa Barbara claimed a five-set win at UC San Diego with Eva Travis pounding a career-high 27 kills on .415 hitting with 10 digs and seven blocks in the contest. The Gauchos tied the program record with 18 total team blocks with Layanna Green in on nine stuffs.
• Hawai’i opened the week with a 3-1 win at Cal State Bakersfield with sophomore Maddie Way putting away 13 kills on 17 attempts without an error to hit .765 in the match with Adrianna Arquette recording a triple-double of 14 kills, 17 digs and 27 assists.
• UC Irvine downed the Highlanders 3-0 in Tuesday’s weekly opener with senior Campbell Jensen assisting on 21 scoring plays int he sweep. Jensen is currently fifth among active Division I players with 1,655 career digs.
• UC Riverside claimed a sweep over Cal State Fullerton on Friday with Sophia Ewalefo registering 14 kills on .462 hitting for the Highlanders.
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).
Mark Your Calendars
The Big West women’s volleyball season continues with the unbalanced schedule of 18 matches to accommodate The Big West Championship. This fall, all 11 matchups in Week 5 between Tuesday-Saturday, Oct. 21-24, will mark the lone meetings of the season between those squads. Each team will play once at home and once on the road during that single-meeting week.
Watch Us Work - Beach vs. 'Bows on ESPNU
For the second straight season, the match between historical powers Hawai’i and Long Beach State will be broadcast to a national television audience. The match will see a 6 o’clock first serve from Walter Pyramid on Friday, Oct. 15, with the game airing on ESPNU. Read more >>>
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 >>>
|
|