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What 2 Watch 4
The Big West enters the second week of the season with various big names again dotting the schedule. After UC Santa Barbara picked up a straight-set victory at Arizona on Sunday to remain undefeated through the first week of play, the Gauchos continue with Big 12 opponents, welcoming Iowa State to the West Coast on Thursday with the Cyclones receiving votes in the latest national poll.
Sacramento State also sees a Big 12 foe at home, facing off against Texas Tech on Friday, along with hosting Nevada and Saint Mary’s as the Hornets look for a first win of the season. Other Big 12 teams dotting the schedule are Kansas State and Utah, as CSUN travels to the Little Apple and Long Beach State makes the trip to Salt Lake City.
At least 11 matches in the second week of the season are set to air on the ESPN+. Check listings for specific match information.
The Big West in the National Rankings
• UC Santa Barbara is one of 77 teams to make it through the first week of the regular season unscathed and hold a perfect record.
• Three teams land in the top 10 nationally in various statistical categories: CSUN is fifth in total team blocks (42.0) and eighth in blocks per set (3.50), Long Beach State ranks fifth in attacks per set (39.57) and UCSB is knotted in first in won-lost percentage (1.000)
• Four players find themselves in the top 10 in NCAA Division I in the individual statistical rankings through Week 1: Cal Poly and Big West setter of the Week Alexis Haury (12.22 assists per set - 2nd), Mustang teammate Kendall Beshear (5.72 points per set - 10th), Big West Defensive Player of the Week Iye Okolo of CSUN (23 total blocks - 5th), and fellow Matador Hailey Brockway (13.25 attacks per set - 4th).
Poll Position
Cal Poly is receiving votes in the first AVCA-Taraflex Division I Poll of the season after a 2025 run to the Sweet 16, falling to eventual national runners-up and preseason No. 3 Kentucky. The Mustangs received 32 votes and land in 29th on the listings, up one from their spot in the preseason listings.
Last Week, Today
Six teams sport a .500 or better record after the first week of the regular-season, headlined by UC Santa Barbara’s perfect week in Arizona.
UC Santa Barbara (3-0, 0-0 BW)
The Gauchos opening week was highlighted by a sweeping victory at Arizona to cap the impressive beginning of the Mike Henchy era. Wildcat Classic Most Valuable Player and Big West Offensive Player of the Week Sophia Wendlick posted a career-best 19 kills against the ‘Cats in a debut for the Gauchos after transferring from Creighton. Wendlick averaged 3.91 kills on .356 hitting with 4.59 points per set. Defensively, fellow All-Tournament Team selection Cortni Youngblood averaged 3.55 digs per set, reaching double figures in each match including a 17-dig outing in the sweep of Arizona. UCSB also downed Tarleton State in five and dispatched Prairie View A&M in three.
Cal Poly (2-1, 0-0 BW)
Directed by Big West Setter of the Week Alexis Haury, the Mustangs went 2-1 at the Texas A&M invitational, sweeping through GCU and Arkansas State with the loss coming to the reigning national champion Aggies. Haury averaged an eye-popping 12.22 assists per set on the weekend and the junior transfer from Washing became the first Cal Poly player with more than 45 assists in a three-set match (46 vs GCU) since head coach Caroline Walters’ younger sister Kate back in 2011. The scoring efforts were dominated by outside hitter Kendall Beshear who exploded for 4.66 kills per set to go along with seven blocks and six service aces. The junior picked up the 16-kill, 10-dig double-double against the Lope in the first match of the season.
Cal State Bakersfield (2-1, 0-0 BW)
The Roadrunners got off to a 2-1 start at the ACU Invitational with junior Suelen Lima earning All-Tournament honors. Lima averaged 4.00 kill, 2.73 digs and 1.00 blocks per set as Cal State Bakersfield earned a sweep against Lamar and the 3-1 win over the hosts from Abilene Christian. with double-double outings in both victorious efforts. Libero Analiese Gagliano (3.45 d/s) also got the All-Tournament nod as Kristen Wright's time at the helm of the `Runners began with a bang.
UC San Diego (2-1, 0-0 BW)
The Tritons got a pair of double-doubles from junior Molly McCluskey at the Gael Bear Classic to pace the squad to the 2-1 mark in the Bay Area to open the Spencer McLaughlin era. McCluskey averaged 4.33 points, 3.33 kills and 2.42 digs in a trio of four-set matches as UC San Diego claimed victories against WCC foes Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga. Middle blocker Lucia Barroso tallied 12 blocks, with two solo stops, and an effective .513 hitting percentage with 21 kills on 39 swings and just one error.
Additional Standouts
• Big West Defensive Player of the Week Iye Okolo of CSUN piled up 23 total blocks in three matches at the Buffs Classic in Boulder, Colo. In the Matadors’ five-set loss to Denver, Okolo matched a career-high with 14 total blocks, the most blocks in the country in a five-set match thus far on the year.
• CSUN’s Hailey Brockway put down a career-high 25 kills in a four-set win over Central Arkansas while averaging 4.63 kills per set for the week.
• Big West Rookie of the Week acclaim went to California Baptist true freshman Nalanie Neal who led the team with 27 kills (3.86 per set) including a game-high 17 strikes in a win against New Mexico which stands as the most in a freshman debut in CBU program history.
• Long Beach State’s Madi Maxwell recorded a third career triple-double in the season-opening match, a 3-1 loss against UCLA. The junior setter finished with 12 kills, 28 assists and a team-high 18 digs.
• Victoria Marthaler of Sacramento State as named to the All-Tournament team at the Asics Classic hosted by Pepperdine after leading the Hornets in kills in all three matches including 21 against the Waves.
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.
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.
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 is showcased by three on the preseason team, with Kendall Beshear, Emma Fredrick and Chloe Leluge each taking honors.
Fredrick, an All-Big West first team selection a season ago, led the league in total kills (422) and points (488) with 27 double-digit kill efforts and 12 double-doubles on the season including 17 kills and 17 digs as the squad upended Southern California on their home floor to advance to the regionals.
Along with powering down 3.07 kills per set, Beshear was a force at the service line in 2025. The junior from Palos Verdes, Calif., served up 51 strikes to top The Big West and rank 23rd nationally. Leluge, the 2025 Big West Championship Most Valuable Player, finished the season with 1.02 blocks per set and hit .377 from the middle including 12 matches at or above .500 hitting for the Bend, Ore., native.
Second in the polling with 109 total points is Long Beach State (22-9, 14-4 BW in 2025). The Beach offense will be directed by junior Madi Maxwell, the lone setter to make the preseason listings. A second team All-Big West selection a year ago, the product of Newhall, Calif., averaged 9.42 assists per set with 1,074 total helpers on the season. The LBSU offense put away 13.66 kills per set in 2025 to pace the conference with Maxwell as the floor general.
UC Santa Barbara (23-9, 14-4 BW in 2025) came in third in the voting, pulling in 99 total points. Reigning Big West Freshman of the Year and preseason All-Big West team selection Gabi Martinez returns to the Gauchos after a collegiate-opening campaign with 2.81 kills, 3.24 points and 1.35 digs per set while putting down 50 total blocks and earning 16 starts on the season.
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. The Wolverines are fresh off their third NCAA Championship appearance after a two-trophy campaign to cap their time in the WAC. Despite the departure of conference Player of the Year and honorable mention All-American Avery Page, Utah Valley returns the 2025 WAC Setter of the Year Evalyn (Medaris) Chism who averaged 6.80 assists and 1.95 digs per set for the Wolverines.
Fifth place in the listing belongs to Sacramento State after tallying 80 points as the squad prepares for their inaugural season as full Big West members. Victoria Marthaler, defending Big Sky Player of the Year, headlines the Hornets offense and earned a place on the preseason All-Big West team. The junior from Albuquerque, N.M. averaged a Big Sky-best 4.89 kills per set, good for sixth in the country, and 5.38 points per set to total 553 kills in a first year for the Hornets. Marthaler picked up honorable mention AVCA status after the impressive sophomore campaign to become just the third Sacramento State player in the Division I era to earn acclaim.
A tie in the votes is seen at sixth with CSUN and UC Irvine both knotted at 64 points. Should the predictions ring true, the final two slots in the 2026 Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship would be filled by the Matadors and Anteaters, mirroring the final two teams in the 2025 field. For CSUN, last season’s entry into the postseason was their first, while UCI made a third-straight bracket.
Sitting in eighth in the poll with 60 points is UC San Diego. The team will rely on preseason team member Molly McCluskey to continue to lead the offensive efforts. The junior opposite hitter from Costa Mesa, Calif., finished the 2025 campaign in the top five in The Big West total kills (392) and points (449) in a second year starting for the Tritons.
California Baptist (35 points), UC Riverside (34), Cal State Fullerton (24) and Cal State Bakersfield (18) round out the poll.
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