After recording the same number of conference wins as the past two seasons, Cal Poly Volleyball has secured its first Big West regular season championship since 2018.
With the regular season championship, Cal Poly has made their way into the 2024 Outrigger Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship tournament.
As the tournament’s No. 1 seed, the Mustangs will receive a bye in the first round.
First-round matchups will take place on Nov. 27. Cal Poly will be closely watching the game between Long Beach State and UC San Diego, and they will play the match winner on Nov. 29 in the semifinals.
What to expect from the Mustangs
Cal Poly will need to maintain its offensive dominance going into the Big West Tournament. Still, head coach Caroline Walters believes the defense will win them the postseason championship.
“We’ve been playing more consistent defense, both at the net as blockers and in the backcourt,” Walters said, “We need to be great defensively to win a Big West championship.”
Defensively, they will have to rely on their first touch and getting the ball up in the air to get a good set and work it to the offense.
That will come, in part, from freshman libero Elif Hurriyet, who has been remarkable in the back row this season for the Mustangs.
Hurriyet leads the Mustangs in digs and digs per set this season.
One area defensively where they could improve is blocking.
The Mustangs ranked fifth in the Big West in total blocks, and an increase of just one or two blocks per set could make a difference as they make a playoff push.
Offensively, Cal Poly has been one of the best teams in the Big West all season.
Freshman middle blocker Chloe Leluge does not see that slowing down for the postseason tournament.
“We need to come out, go in strong and fire on all cylinders,” Leluge said. “I think we’ll be able to do that just fine, especially at the Big West tournament.”
Also, on offense, be ready for the heavy arms of redshirt senior Tommi Stockham and redshirt junior Lizzy Markovska, who both celebrated their senior night and will be making their last push to a national tournament as a Mustang.
On offense, expect the two middle blockers, Leluge and redshirt sophomore Breklyn Pulling, to record kills efficiently. Both ranked in the top five in attack percentage in the Big West, with Leluge being the most efficient in the conference.
How Cal Poly fares against the field
The Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA National Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Last season, two Big West teams made the national tournament: Hawaii, which won the Big West championship, and UC Santa Barbara, which received an at-large bid. Hawaii lost in the second round, while the Gauchos could not make it out of the first round.
Cal Poly’s best chance to make the NCAA National Championship for the first time since the 2019 season would be to win the Big West tournament.
It would be a tough road to the national tournament if they could not claim the Big West Championship.
This season, the Mustangs ranked 73rd in the nation in RPI, or rating percentage index, a measurement that considers a team’s wins, losses, and strength of schedule.
Only four teams have made the national tournament in the past three seasons with an RPI of 73 or lower (all were during the 2020 season).
As mentioned, Cal Poly will receive a bye and will face the winner of Long Beach State and UC San Diego in the semifinal round. If they made it to the championship, it would be the following day, Nov. 30, against either Hawaii, UC Davis, or UC Irvine.
All the playoff games will take place at the Bren Events Center in Irvine.