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What 2 Watch 4
The Big West opens up league play with all 12 teams ready to vie for one of the top six spots in the standings come Thanksgiving and a trip to San Luis Obispo to compete in the 2026 Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship at the home of defending victor Cal Poly.
Long Beach State (8-2) enters the conference segment on a tear, winning eight consecutive after dropping their first two matches of the season in a home-and-home against UCLA. The Beach’s eight-match winning streak is tied for eighth in the country as LBSU hits the road. First, the team meets up with UC Irvine (2-9) in the Black-Blue Rivalry on Friday before traveling down I-5 to face off with UC San Diego (4-7) as the Tritons play their first pair of the season at LionTree Arena. LBSU is the lone team to make it through the first month of the non-conference season with a winning record.
New Big West teams Sacramento State (5-6) and California Baptist (3-8) face off on the first day of league play in the Capitol city with Utah Valley (2-10) also playing host as UC Riverside (4-7) makes the trip to Orem. Cal Poly (4-6) and UC Santa Barbara (4-7) are also on tap to open league play at home. The Hornets are the lone league side to remain unscathed on their home court of the nine who have played a match in their own gym thus far on the season.
All 12 matches in the first week of conference competition are set to air on ESPN+. Check listings for specific match information.
The Big West in the National Rankings
• Long Beach State clocks in at No. 35 on the toughest schedule listings in the non-conference segment at 0.615, leading The Big West.
• One team lands in the top 10 nationally in their play at the net: CSUN is fifth in blocks per set (3.09) and sixth in total team blocks (126.5) after the first month of the season.
• Three players find themselves in the top 10 in NCAA Division I in the individual statistical rankings through Week 4: CSUN’s Iye Okolo (63 total blocks - 10th), Victoria Marthaler of Sacramento State (523 total attacks - 10th, 195 total kills - 8th, 218.0 total points - 9th) and Long Beach State setter Madi Maxwell with two triple doubles on the year (3rd).
• Three team and five individual match performances rate in the top five in the country thus far. Iye Okolo’s 14.0 blocks for CSUN in a five-setter against Denver on Aug. 29 ties for tops in the nation.
• As a conference, The Big West is eighth in the nation in total kills (6,287), assists (5,812), aces (747) and points (8,119.5) in 521 sets played.
Last Week, Today
Long Beach State continued its fiery start to the season while seven teams claimed at least one win in the final week of non-conference action.
Long Beach State (8-2, 0-0 BW)
The Beach claimed a pair of victories on the road at Pac-12 foe Washington State to close out non-conference play and run the streak to eight straight. LBSU’s string is tied for eighth longest in the young season. Sophomore Sidney Hamaker ended the weekend with a team-best 3.25 kills per set highlighted by career-highs of 20 kills and seven blocks with two aces in the five-set come-from-behind finale. Libero Anna Jelinek scooped up 3.63 digs per set and recorded a perfect passing percentage in Pullman with Madi Maxwell guiding the squad while tallying 7.75 assists and a team-best 4.25 digs per set with eight total blocks in the road trip.
Sacramento State (5-6, 0-0 BW)
The Hornets split the weekend at the Battle of NorCal, taking down San Jose State in four before pushing California to the brink in five. Junior Makenna Wiepert and Big West Setter of the Week became the first Sacramento State weekly winner after averaging 10.44 assists and 3.22 digs per set with eight kills on .615 hitting and an errorless weekend. In Saturday’s narrow defeat, Weipert posted career highs in assists (48), digs (23) and kills (6). Freshman middle blocker Nikola Gamlin hit .688 over two matches with 23 kills and just one error in 32 swings. An .857 hitting percentage (12-0-14) against the Spartans is fifth-best in Hornets history and is tied for third in the country.
Cal State Bakersfield (5-7, 0-0 BW)
The Roadrunners closed out the non-conference segment with a busy four-match week, garnering a split away from home. Big West Offensive Player of the Week Suelen Lima was a catalyst in the success averaging 3.68 kills per set, including a career-high 28 strikes to go along with 12 digs in Friday’s win at Eastern Washington. Rookie of the Week honors belong to Leylah Duran after the freshman middle blocker averaged 1.50 kills on .318 hitting and 2.06 points per set. In the come-from-behind against EWU, Duran hit .412 (8-1-17) with four blocks and three digs. Cal State Bakersfield opened the week with another five-set victory, taking down Saint Mary’s in Moraga.
UC Riverside (4-7, 0-0 BW)
The Highlanders enjoyed a 2-1 week with wins against Chicago State and Southern Utah, paced by senior Andre Brewer. The outside hitter averaged a whopping 4.78 kills per set while hitting .320 with just 11 errors on 100 swings. Brewer secured a double-double of 15 kills and 15 digs in the three-setter against Chicago State to highlight the weekend. Junior Malia Tanksley averaged 1.14 blocks per set to lead the defense including four stuffs against the Southern Utah as UCR held the Thunderbirds to just 0.078 hitting in the sweeping victory.
Cal State Fullerton (5-8, 0-0 BW)
Cal State Fullerton freshman outside hitter Sofia Shine picked up All-Tournament Team honors at the Pelican Invitational twice finishing with a career-high 17 kills including in a 3-1 win against Florida A&M on .452 hitting. Teammate Hannah Hass surpassed the 100 career block threshold with 15 total blocks.
UC Irvine (2-9, 0-0 BW)
The Anteaters split the weekend at The Rebel Challenge in Las Vegas, beating Southeastern Louisiana before falling to host UNLV. First-time Big West Defensive Player of the Week Whitney Wallace averaged 5.38 digs per set, with Madison Triplett providing a team-best 3.63 kills per set to land on the All-Tournament Team.
UC San Diego (4-7, 0-0 BW)
Playing in The Rebel Challenge, the Tritons swept through Southeastern Louisiana before falling to the hosts in five. Molly McCluskey averaged 3.75 kills, 2.38 digs and 4.44 points per set to lead the team with libero Paulina Baillie added a team-best 2.88 digs per set with five service aces. Both juniors claimed All-Tournament Team honors for their efforts.
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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