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What 2 Watch 4
Week 2 of the season sees all 11 teams again matched up around the nation, with three more ranked foes dotting the schedule. UC Davis plays at No. 8 Wisconsin on Thursday with UC Santa Barbara taking a drive down the 5 to tussle with No. 22 USC on Friday and No. 13 Creighton on Saturday. The Gauchos enter the weekend a perfect 2-0 after taking a pair at San Jose State to open the year. Also still riding an unblemished record is CSUN, who has their first 3-0 start to the season since 2014 when they won their first five.
All told, 13 of the week’s matches across the country are set to air on the ESPN family of networks. Check listings for specific match information.
Last Week, Today
• The Big West finished the first week of the season at 15-17 (.469) with five teams sporting a winning record: CSUN, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton at UC Irvine. The league was 4-2 in five-setters with the Matadors pulling off the reverse sweep in the season opener.
• The first set of Player of the Week nods went to UC San Diego’s Molly McCluskey (offensive) after a pair of school records, Paige Sentes (defensive) and Katie Kolar (setter) of CSUN and first-year Long Beach State student-athlete Logan King (freshman). Read more >>>
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. Brandon 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.
Week 1 Highlights
CSUN (3-0, 0-0 BW)
With their first 3-0 start in over a decade, the Matadors got wins over Idaho State, Pacific and California Baptist to win the Ridge Invitational title. Senior opposite hitter Leah Miller (2.77 k/s) was named MVP of the event with Big West Defensive Player of the Week Paige Sentes (4.85 d/s, 1.15 a/s) earning All-Tournament Team honors with freshman Saniyah Sobers helping the back line with 2.15 digs per set in the collegiate debut weekend. Big West Setter of the Week Katie Kolar finished with 9.34 assists per set and earned a double-double (48 a, 11 d) in the reverse sweep of Idaho State.
UC Santa Barbara (2-0, 0-0 BW)
The Gauchos claimed a pair of wins at San Jose State with reigning Big West Freshman of the Year Eva Travis averaging 5.57 kills per set on .420 hitting. Travis notched a career-high 25 in Friday’s four-set victory. With effective play through seven sets on the court, UCSB finds themselves in the top 25 nationally in hitting percentage (.350), kills per set (15.14) and assists per set (14.43).
Cal Poly (2-1, 0-0 BW)
The Mustangs took the first set at No. 11 Minnesota before falling in four in the season opener. Cal Poly then rebounded with wins against St. Thomas and Ball State. Starting at libero for the first time since early 2024, Ella Scott recorded career-bests of 17 digs and seven assists in the match against the Gophers. Redshirt senior setter Emme Bullis opened the year with a pair of double-doubles setting up Kendall Beshear and Co, who highlighted the offense with a career-high 20 kills in Sunday’s five-set victory at Ball State.
Cal State Fullerton (2-1, 0-0 BW)
The Titans ushered in a new era under alumna Nicky Cannon, finishing with a 2-1 mark at the Vandal Volleyball Tournament. Senior Ketesia Hall earned All-Tournament honors after averaging 2.08 kills and 0.92 blocks per set with freshman Hannah Hass adding 2.10 kills and 1.10 blocks per set to get the All-Tournament nod. In the 3-1 win over ORU to close the weekend, Hass hit .579 with 12 kills on 19 swings.
UC Irvine (2-1, 0-0 BW)
The Anteaters picked up wins against Southern Utah and Nevada in the opening weekend of the season. Senior Kendra MacDonald earned Wildcat All-Tournament Team honors after averaging 2.58 kills and 1.50 digs per set with junior setter Nicole Feliciano also taking a place on the All-Tournament Team. Middle blocker Ally Bolden helped UCI outblock its opponents 33-14 in three matches including nine total blocks to go along with a career-high 12 kills on .500 hitting against the Wolf Pack. With 34 total team blocks on the weekend, UCI is 17th in the country in the category.
Additional Accolades
• Big West Offensive Player of the Week honors went to Molly McCluskey of UC San Diego after the sophomore set the program’s Division I single-match record for points (33 vs. Northwestern) and hitting percentage (.682 vs. Eastern Washington). McCluskey was also named to the UC San Diego Invitational All-Tournament Team.
• Long Beach State’s Logan King picked up Freshman of the Week honors averaging 4.29 kills and 1.86 digs per set in the weekend split against No. 6 Stanford and Oregon State. King and the Beach pushed No. 19 UCLA to the brink on Monday night before succumbing in the Bears’ season opener from Walter Pyramid.
• UC Davis outside hitter Jade Light earned the All-Tournament nod at the Sac State Invitational after posting two double-doubles as the Aggies went 1-2 on the weekend.
• UC Riverside’s Mia Delahoussaye recorded a team-high 33 kills at the Black & Gold Classic in Orlando, including an 18-kill effort in the sweep of Norfolk State. Teammate Jessica Dean scooped up All-Tournament honors after averaging 4.67 digs per set and picking up a 1,000th career dig in the season opener. The win over Norfolk State was the first under the leadership of new head coach Branden Higa.
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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