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What 2 Watch 4
Just one unbeaten remains in Big West play as Cal Poly (12-6, 8-0 BW) takes an eight match winning streak into Blue-Green Rivalry weekend against UC Santa Barbara (10-9, 6-2 BW), one of three teams knotted in second in the standings.
The first meeting between the Mustangs and Gauchos comes at the Thunderdome in a nationally televised contest on ESPNU. In the last 10 meetings between the rivals, UCSB holds the slight 6-4 advantage, but Cal Poly has taken home victories in three of the last four. However, the home court was good for both sides in 2025 as each host claimed the win in five-set showdowns. This will be the first meeting between first-year Gaucho head coach Michael Henchy and Cal Poly’s Caroline Walters, who became Cal Poly’s wins leader in their last outing when the Mustangs downed UC Riverside 3-1 for Walters’ win No. 144.
The return trip comes as Saturday’s capper, with the Mustangs hosting a 7 o’clock outing on Saturday.
Every paring of the week is of the home-and-home variety with some intriguing duos on the docket as everyone hits the midpoint of the league schedule: newcomers on “Team Green” Utah Valley and Sacramento State also sport a Thursday-Saturday cadence to open the week. The Crosstown Showdown between California Baptist and UC Riverside is on the docket as is a drive down the five for Cal State Bakersfield and CSUN. Connected on the county lines, Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State are linked for the week with the week’s final pairing pitting UC Irvine and UC San Diego in a Blue and Gold battle.
All 12 matches are set to air on the ESPN family of networks. Check listings for specific match information. Check listings for specific match information.
The Big West in the National Rankings
• Long Beach State currently leads the league in the national RPI raking report for Oct. 18, sitting at No. 55 in adjusted RPI, followed by Cal Poly (103) for the top three.
• Big West unbeatens Cal Poly lands in 10th in the NCAA Division 1 national statistical rankings in hitting percentage, swinging at a rate of at 0.287 (888-290-2085). The Big West’s best is only one of two teams from a non-Power 4 conference to land in the Top 10 (Western Kentucky - CUSA - .292).
• Six players find themselves in the national Top 25 in various statistical categories. Notably, Cal Poly duo Breklyn Pulling (.421 - 15th) and Charlotte Kelly (.405 - 24th), Iye Okolo of CSUN is 17th with 1.73 blocks per set, and Long Beach State setter Madi Maxwell picked up a third triple double on the year to move up to second in the season rankings.
• Three team and four individual match performances rate in the top five in the country thus far. The 25-kill performance in a three-set match for Julia Bazylevych of CSUN in the sweep of Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 10 ties for tops the nation, as does Okolo’s 14.0 blocks for the Matadors in a five-setter against Denver on Aug. 29.
• Sacramento State’s Victoria Marthaler (4.12 kills per set - 9th; 11.11 attacks per set - 6th) and Maxwell of LBSU (five triple doubles - 8th) each grace the Top 10 in the NCAA Division I career listings.
Last Week, Today
Cal Poly kept the streak rolling to remain in sole possession of the top line of the standings while three team sit in a tie for second as the race to make the six-team Big West Championship bracket heats up. For the second week in a row, eight teams won at least one match and the top four teams in the standings all claimed victories in both of their matches on the week.
Cal Poly (12-6, 8-0 BW)
The Mustangs notched home wins over California Baptist and UC Riverside, giving head coach Caroline Walters the title of Cal Poly’s winningest head coach on Saturday with a 144th victory at the helm. Big West Offensive Player of the Week Emma Fredrick posted 18 kills and a season-high 14 digs in Friday’s five-setter against the Lancers while powering down 19 in the 3-1 victory over the Highlanders the following day. Senior Breklyn Pulling recorded season-high block totals in both matches with six each night to average 1.33 per set on the week with the league’s leading assist-giver Alexis Haury passing for 9.00 helpers per set.
Cal Poly’s .506 clip against Eastern Illinois in a three-setter on Sept. 11 currently ranks fifth in the NCAA Division I individual match highs.
Long Beach State (14-4, 6-2 BW)
The Beach picked up a pair on the road against new conference foes Utah Valley and Sacramento State with Big West Setter of the Week Madi Maxwell providing all-around play to highlight the week. Maxwell delivered a third triple-double of the year in a five-set win against the Wolverines with 28 assists, 18 digs and 15 kills. In the Saturday sweep of the Hornets, Maxwell finished with 8 kills on .333 hitting, 16 assists, seven digs and five blocks. Izzy Mahaffey’s award-winning performance to claim a first career Big West Defensive Player of the Week honor was demonstrated by a 5.00 digs per set average. Mahaffey scooped up 21 at UVU before collecting 19 against Sacramento State, easily surpassing the previous career high of 15 digs in both matches.
UC Irvine (8-11, 6-2 BW)
The Anteaters downed Cal State Bakersfield and CSUN on the road with setter Nicole Feliciano entering rarified air in the UCI recordbooks. the senior joined head coach Ashlie Hain as the only two Anteaters in program history with 2,000+ assists and 1,000+ digs, as Feliciano now stands at 2,956 assists and 1,013 digs and counting. Big West Rookie of the Week Taylor Boice averaged 2.38 kills on .316 hitting with 1.38 blocks per set featuring 12 kills on a .588 clip and a career-high nine blocks against CSUN. Abby Pekrul set a career high in kills in both matches reaching double digits in each four-set victory, highlighted by 14 kills on .591 hitting with three blocks against the Matadors. Pekrul registered nine total blocks at CSUB to narrowly miss the double-double. Libero Whitney Wallace popped up 18 digs in each match.
UC Santa Barbara (10-9, 6-2 BW)
The Gauchos’ two-win weekend came with home efforts against Inland Empire foes UC Riverside and California Baptist. Gabi Martinez led the offense with 4.00 kills per set, including 23 kills and 12 digs in a five-setter against CBU. Friday’s eye-popping performance came off the arm of Auburn Tomkinson, who finished with 15 kill on 20 errorless swings to hit .750 in the match to go along with four blocks. This is the second such match in the month of October Tomkinson has hit .750. The figure ties for second in the country for hitting percentage (min. 20 attempts).
Additional Accolades
• Cal State Bakersfield’s Jordyn-Waite-Ward exploded for 3.50 kills per set in the split weekend, highlighted by 20 kills while htting .500 in a 3-1 win over UC San Diego. Suelen Lima added seven blocks against the Tritons.
• Sacramento State’s Skyler Garten hit .654 for the week for the Hornets with 10 kills (10-1-14) and four aces in the four-set win over Cal State Fullerton. Reese Ampi scooped up 21 digs while adding a pair of aces in Thursday’s win over the Titans.
• Ireland McNees led UC San Diego in their weekend split, averaging 400 kills, 2.38 digs and 4.81 points per set with 16 kills in each match while adding a trio of aces, nine digs and two blocks in the 3-1 win at CSUN.
• Utah Valley swept through Cal State Fullerton with Brielle Rueckert finishing with 11 kills on 15 attempts to hit .667. Alyvia Watkins was in on nine blocks, including two solo stuffs, and added five kills in the Wolverines’ win.
Non-Conference Notables
• Long Beach State clocked in at No. 35 on the toughest schedule listings in the non-conference segment at 0.615, leading The Big West. The Beach entered league play at 8-2 and on an eight-game winning streak after dropping their first two contests of the year to UCLA.
• Cal Poly opened the season seeing themselves in the listings of four straight AVCA polls including the preseason iteration, receiving votes in each after a Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 as the last unseeded team standing in 2025.
• The Big West got Big Wins over three Big 12 opponents, two of which game on the road. UC Santa Barbara swept through RV Arizona on their home floor on Aug. 30. Then, Sacramento State took down Texas Tech in three on Sept. 4 at home. Finally, Long Beach State pulled off a five-set victory at RV Utah on Sept. 5 to round out the Power-4 wins in the non-conference segment.
Mark Your Calendars
The storied Blue-Green Rivalry game on Oct. 22 has been selected for national tv, as UC Santa Barbara plays host to defending Big West champion and NCAA regional participant Cal Poly at the Thunderdome at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU. In last season’s pair of meetings the games were hotly contested, both needing the full five sets before each team taking a win on their respective home floor. The contest is part of a unique scheduling week that sees a home-and-home for every squad at the midpoint of the league slate. Read more >>>
Welcome to The Big West
New teams and coaches enter the league in 2026 as California Baptist, Sacramento State and Utah Valley bump the membership to 12 institutions this season. Including these three on the sidelines and three incoming head coaches, half of the league’s leaders will be new.
Defending WAC champion and NCAA participant Utah Valley is under the direction of Sam Atoa, entering a 23rd season at the helm and sporting a 380-292 (.565) overall record. Atoa is the program’s only head coach, including prior to Division I membership from 2003-08.
Entering a second season at the helm of his alma mater, Trevor Johnson holds a 7-18 overall record as the coach at California Baptist and 157-100 career head coaching record in nine seasons.
The Hornets head coach for the last 17 seasons has been Ruben Volta, who stands at 299-259 (.536) as the program’s second-ever leader. Volta is a 1993 alumnus of Sacramento State.
Additionally, UC Santa Barbara will be under the direction of Michael Henchy, who comes to the Gauchos after time on the sideline as assistant coach at Penn State where he was part of the staff of the 2024 national champion squad.
UC San Diego will be guided by first-year head coach Spencer McLaughlin, who comes to La Jolla after a successful two-year stint as the associate head coach at Southern California.
Cal State Bakersfield rounds out the fresh faces on the sidelines with Kristen Wright taking the helm in Bakersfield, returning to her hometown after eight seasons at North Florida.
Preseason Prognostications
Cal Poly, defending Big West champion and NCAA regional participant from a year ago, was slated to reign supreme with 11 first-place votes in the 2026 Big West Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll and three returners and the Preseason Coaches’ Team.
The Mustangs earned every possible nod and the highest points available after the Cinderella run to the Sweet 16 accumulating 121 points from the league’s 12 head coaches. Looking to expand on their 27-8 overall record and 14-4 mark in Big West action from a season ago, the depth of the seasoned Cal Poly squad was showcased by three on the preseason team, with Kendall Beshear, Emma Fredrick and Chloe Leluge each taking honors.
Second in the polling with 109 total points was Long Beach State (22-9, 14-4 BW in 2025). UC Santa Barbara (23-9, 14-4 BW in 2025) came in third in the voting, pulling in 99 total points. Newcomer to the conference and 2025 WAC champion Utah Valley (16-11, 10-2 WAC in 2025) accumulated 84 total points and the final first-place vote to rank fourth in the poll.
Additional preseason team honors went to Molly McCluskey (UC San Diego), Victoria Marthaler (Sacramento State), Gabi Martinez (UC Santa Barbara) and Madi Maxwell (Long Beach State). Read more >>>
Last Year, Today - By the Numbers
• Four Big West teams closed the season with at least 20 wins, and that number grows to five when including incoming member Sacramento State.
• Four Big West teams finished in the Top 100 in the adjusted RPI rankings, led by Big West automatic qualifier and NCAA Sweet 16 team Cal Poly (42), regular-season champion UC Davis (49), UC Santa Barbara (51) and Long Beach State (77).
• Cal Poly finished the season with an unblemished 15-0 record on their home floor at Mott Athletics Center, and currently sport a 19-match home winning streak. The string is good for the third-longest home streak in the country, only bested by Pittsburgh (51 games) and Kentucky (22 games).
• Cal Poly was the first unseeded team to advance to the third round in the NCAA Championship bracket since the seeding format changed in 2022, and the first Big West team to earn a spot in the regionals since 2019.
• In its final season in The Big West, Hawai’i averaged 5,804 fans per contest with 17 home games, good for third in the country and only trailing Nebraska and Wisconsin for average attendance figures.
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