Cal Poly Volleyball swept Long Beach State to advance to the Big West Championships final on Friday at the Bren Events Center.
After No. 4 seeded Long Beach State defeated No. 5 UC San Diego in the first round, the top-seeded Mustangs (22-8, 14-4 Big West) faced the Beach (19-11, 12-6 Big West) in the semifinal match.
Coming off a win against UC Davis to finish the regular season and capture the Big West regular season title, Cal Poly received a bye in the first round of the Big West Championships tournament.
The Mustangs won a clean sweep and will play in the Big West Championship against Hawaii, the defending Big West champion.
“It’s probably my favorite one I’ve ever coached,” head coach Caroline Walters said in a postgame press conference.
Although Cal Poly came out with the win, they may have suffered a big loss on the court late in the third set. Outside hitter Tommi Stockham left the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury and did not return.
“I didn’t want this to be my last game,” Stockham said. “I love this group of people.”
No Bullis
With the Mustangs’ normal starting setter, Emme Bullis, out for the match against Long Beach, Cal Poly shifted to Samantha Callahan to do the setting.
Bullis, who played in every set in the regular season, was a late scratch to the game. The All-Big West Second Team setter has 1079 assists this season.
“I have been put in some difficult situations throughout the season, but it just gave me the confidence to lean on my team and even my coaches that trusted me,” Callahan said.
Callahan has seen very little court time this season. Before the semifinal match, she had only played in 10 sets and recorded 27 assists, but versus Long Beach, she had 40 assists, a career-high.
Walters had expressed throughout the season that Callahan would see the court in certain situations and knew she could succeed when the Mustangs went to a 6-2 rotation. Today, more than that was asked of her, and she stepped up to the challenge.
“What [Callahan] did for us is nothing short of miraculous,” Walters said. “It’s something I’ll talk about with future teams for a long, long time.”
Limiting the Beach blocks
Long Beach State is the best team in the Big West and among the top 50 in the nation in terms of blocks per set, but Cal Poly was able to play around the block on its way to the win.
The Beach only recorded eight total blocks, and in a close first set that the Mustangs won by three, Long Beach didn’t have any blocks.
However, in the second and third sets, Long Beach had four blocks in each set, which led to some very competitive sets.
Showtime for the Mustangs
The Mustangs playmakers stepped up big time in the season’s most crucial game. Although leaving the game with an injury, Stockham recorded 17 kills on 33 total attempts, followed by redshirt sophomore middle blocker Breklyn Pulling, who had 11 kills.
In the back row, freshman libero Elif Hurriyet led the team in digs with 13. Redshirt junior Lizzy Markovska, Stockham and Callahan all added six digs. Stockham also added two service aces for Cal Poly.
With the win over Long Beach, Cal Poly moves on to the Championship match, where it will face No. 2 seeded Hawaii on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m. The winner of the championship match will receive an automatic bid into the NCAA National Tournament.
