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What 2 Watch 4
The Big West closes non-conference action with a full slate across the league, headlined by a marquee weekend in San Luis Obispo for defending league champions Cal Poly. The Mustangs are home for the first time in the 2026 campaign in the SLO Classic, hosting Santa Clara, No. 12 Arizona State and No. 8 Stanford at Mott Athletics Center. Cal Poly enters the Thursday’s match against the Broncos sporting a 19-match home winning streak, which stands as the third-longest in NCAA Division I women’s volleyball, only trailing Pittsburgh (56) and Kentucky (26).
Utah Valley al CSUN is also finishing off their non-conference segment with at least one home match on this week’s schedule as the Matadors have a home-and-home with LMU and the Wolverines play in-state foes No. 24 BYU and Utah State on the road before hosting Weber State on Saturday. The other ranked squad on the schedule is No. 19 Southern California, as UC Santa Barbara takes on the Trojans in LA on Sunday.
At least 14 matches in the final week of the non-conference action are set to air on ESPN+. Check listings for specific match information.
The Big West in the National Rankings
• One team lands in the top 10 nationally in various statistical categories: CSUN is fifth in blocks per set (3.06) and fourth in total team blocks (98.0) through the third week of non-conference action.
• Three players find themselves in the top 10 in NCAA Division I in the individual statistical rankings through Week 3: CSUN’s Iye Okolo (1.72 blocks per set - 7th; 55 total blocks - 2nd), Victoria Marthaler of Sacramento State (431 total attacks - 7th, 162 total kills - 4th, 181.0 total points - 3rd) and Long Beach State setter Madi Maxwell with two triple doubles on the year (2nd).
• Three team and six individual match performances rate in the top five in the country thus far with UC Irvine’s digs (77) and attacks (159) in a three-set match against Utah Tech on Sept. 12 leading the way. Okolo’s 14.0 blocks in a five-setter against Denver on Aug. 29 also paces the nation.
Poll Position
Cal Poly is receiving votes in the latest AVCA-Taraflex Division I Poll after a 2025 run to the Sweet 16, falling to eventual national runners-up and preseason No. 3 Kentucky. The Mustangs have been in all three iterations of the poll this regular season as well as the preseason edition. Complete poll >>>
Last Week, Today
Two squads enjoyed three-win weekends, with Long Beach State making it back-to-back weeks without a blemish. Eight teams claimed at least one victory in the third week of non-league play.
Long Beach State (6-2, 0-0 BW)
The Beach went 3-0 at home with four-set wins against Brown and San Jose State before dominating LMU in three to string together six in a row after dropping their first two matches of the season to UCLA. Back-to-back Big West Setter of the Week Madi Maxwell guided the squad to a .242 overall hitting percentage while averaging 8.09 assists, 2.73 digs and 1.73 kills per set to pick up honors. Sophomore Sidney Hamaker was again the offensive leader with 3.55 kills per set including 15 on .480 hitting against the Lions. Hamaker has struck for double-digit kills in each match of the season.
CSUN (4-4, 0-0 BW)
The Matadors ran through the Linda Murphy Ridge Invitational with senior Hailey Brockway picking up tournament MVP en route to Big West Offensive Player of the Week honors, a first career weekly nod. The outside hitter averaged 4.75 kills and 2.25 digs per set with five aces in wins against UNLV, San Francisco and Fresno State. In the four-setter against the Dons, Brockway hit a career-best .345 on 55 swings, racking up 26 kills and eight digs in the match. Senior libero Paige Sentes also landed on the All-Tournament Team after averaging 3.75 digs per set highlighted by 20 digs and seven assists against USF, reaching double figures in all three matches. Sophomore Fallyn Blotzer also made the All-Tournament Team with double figure kills in each match, capped with 12 kills on 24 swings with one error to hit .458 in the three-set finale against the Bulldogs.
Cal State Fullerton (4-5, 0-0 BW)
The Titans picked up two wins in South Carolina at the Playa Bowls Invitational with sophomore Marisa Nakata claiming Most Valuable Player distinction. Nakata tallied 34 kills on .310 hitting with a pair of double-doubles. In the five-set victory against Charleston Southern the multi-positional player finished with 16 kills on .389 hitting with 14 digs, four aces and a pair of blocks. Junior Italia Bernal claimed the All-Tournament Best Setter Award with 8.08 assists and 2.83 digs per set, also notching two double-doubles on the weekend.
Utah Valley (2-7, 0-0 BW)
The Wolverines picked up a pair of victories at the Kansas City Klassic, defeating the host Kangaroos and Radford, both in five to claim their first wins of the season. Senior Lani Toutai earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week for the efforts averaging 5.00 digs per set with a career-best 32 to go along with five assists against Radford. Brielle Rueckert was an offensive catalyst with 2.92 kills per set with .538 hitting with just three errors in 65 attempts. The middle blocker posted a career-high 12 total-blocks against the ‘Roos followed by another career-best with 19 kills on .720 hitting (19-1-25) with six blocks in the weekend finale.
Additional Standouts
• Across the two-match Indiana Invitational, Emma Fredrick averaged 4.67 kills per set on .370 hitting with 17 strikes in a sweep of Eastern Illinois. Alexis Haury handed out 10.33 assists per set on the trip with 37 assists and 10 digs in the victory.
• Big West Rookie of the Week Gia Rivera of UC San Diego averaged 3.50 kills per set with a career-high 20 in a five-set loss at New Mexico State. Teammate Kaliya Ndiaye recorded a career-high 10 blocks the match while making a first career start and averaged 1.17 blocks per set on the road trip where the Tritons went 1-2.
• UC Irvine libero Whitney Wallace registered a career-high 30 digs in a five-set loss to San Jose State on Sunday and averaged 4.85 per set on the week.
• Sacramento State’s Victoria Marthaler was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Boise State Invitational after averaging 4.50 kills per set including a season-best 23 in a win against Saint Mary’s. Marthaler has claimed a place on the all-tournament team in all three events the Hornets have played in thus far in the season.
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. 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 >>>
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