Cal Poly wins Big West Volleyball Championship and heads back to NCAA Tournament for first time since 2019
Mike Klan
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KEYT) – Runners-up a season ago, second-seeded Cal Poly took home the crown at The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship in decisive fashion. Interestingly, a No. 2 seed has won all three iterations of The Big West Championship.
The Mustangs were able to defeat regular-season champion UC Davis, 3-1, on Saturday at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, winning by scores of 25-16, 25-21, 20-25, and 25-15.
Cal Poly improves its record to 25-7 and earns The Big West’s automatic berth into the field of the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. Cal Poly will be making a 17th overall appearance into the national postseason, and a first since 2019 after capturing the crown. The Mustangs will learn their seed and destination during the selection show on Sunday, Nov. 30, slated to start at 3 p.m. on ESPN.
A defensive stalwart all season long, UC Davis held opponents to .149 hitting heading into the match. On Saturday, Cal Poly secured the victory with a strong offensive effort, recording a .252 hitting percentage while tallying 12 total blocks and six service aces to turn the tables.
The Mustangs secured the first set against UC Davis with a decisive 25-16 victory. Cal Poly’s Emma Fredrick and Charlotte Kelly each contributed key kills, while Emme Bullis facilitated the offense with multiple assists, leading to a dominant mid-set stretch. Cal Poly saw themselves with an eight-point advantage after an ace for Fredrick, followed by a big block for Bullis and Championship MVP Chloe Leluge to make it 21-13.
In the second set, the Mustangs gained the 2-0 lead in the match to continue the momentum. Cal Poly’s Ella Scott delivered a crucial service ace during a 4-0 run early in the frame and the score was 10-6 in favor of the Mustangs after a Leluge kill. The Mustangs continued to hold the advantage throughout but Allie Caldwell made the margin two points with a strike to make it 19-17. The Aggies were able to stave off two set points off of plays from Big West Player of the Year Jade Light, before a service error ended the frame at 25-21.
UC Davis rallied to take a point in the third, capitalizing on early momentum to build an 9-4 lead after a strike from Light off the pass from Libero of the Year Ximena Cordero Barr. The advantage was 14-9 after a service error for the Mustangs, but Cal Poly was able to knot the frame at 18 and 19 points before UC Davis secured the frame 25-20.
Cal Poly punched their ticket into the postseason with a decisive 25-15 fourth set victory with Leluge and Fredrick were pivotal, contributing key blocks and kills that pushed Cal Poly ahead and in control to close out the match.
Leluge led the team with 16 kills on .593 hitting and six total blocks. Leluge’s overall performance in the Championship earned her the title of Most Valuable Player, where she averaged 4.13 kills per set (33 kills in eight sets) while hitting a combined .561 and committing just one error.
Fredrick also made a notable impact with 12 kills and four blocks with libero Elif Hurriet adding 15 digs and seven assists. Senior setter Bullis recorded 34 assists and 15 digs for the double-double.
Light led the match with 19 kills for the Aggies with Breeze Czapinski powering down 10 kills with three block assists. Caldwell led the team at the net with six total denials and Big West Setter of the Year Mia Starr directed the floor with 39 assists and 14 digs. UC Davis stands and 21-7 with their first regular-season title and 20-win season in the books in their last year as a member of The Big West.
(Article courtesy of Big West)