After two years of falling short against Hawai’i in the Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship, Cal Poly Volleyball entered this year’s tournament with one goal in mind: bring home the title.
On Nov. 29, they did just that in a groundbreaking fashion.
After defeating No. 3 seed CSU Long Beach, the Mustangs prevailed over No. 1 seed and regular season champion UC Davis in a four-set match to claim the first Big West Championship in program history. Their victory made them an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
“[It’s] an exciting conference to be a part of and really grateful that we won it but for the experience at large,” head coach Caroline Walters said.
The Mustangs and Aggies only faced each other once prior to the tournament on Oct. 25 in one of Davis’s only two regular season losses, where the Mustangs secured the win 3-1.
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Cal Poly’s repeat victory over UC Davis clinched their first Big West Woman’s Volleyball Championship as the tournament started in 2023 and is the team’s seventh D1 conference title.
Leluge for MVP
Sophomore middle blocker Chloe Leluge was named the Big West Championship MVP after leading both matches offensively with a career high of 17 kills in the semifinals and notching 16 kills with zero errors for a .593 hitting percentage in the championship match.
“I just love playing at Cal Poly,” Leluge said.
Earlier in the season, Leluge set Cal Poly’s DI program record for hitting percentage with a career average of .367%.
She stands second in the conference for both blocks and hitting percentage with 123 blocks and a season average of .401% hitting percentage. Despite only being a sophomore, her record-breaking season and statistics thus far put her on the conference radar landing her a spot on the All Big West Second Team. She has also emerged as a leader in the locker room in her second year in the program.
“I’m silly, goofy, and it’s just so nice to have a team that responds to that,” Leluge said.
Hard-hitting first half
Within the first 18 points of set one against UC Davis, the match had tallied in six ties. Both teams’ offenses were in the zone causing a neck-and-neck game.
The Mustangs broke the tie going on a 6-0 run, giving them the momentum they needed to secure the set. Cal Poly capitalized on Davis’ five errors late in the set, allowing them to close the set with a dominant final score of 25-16.
The second set carried over the competitive atmosphere with a tight score of 25-21, yet the Aggies only held the lead once. Cal Poly’s defense worked overtime as they racked in 28 digs in set two alone, almost 14 more than their season average per set.
Redshirt senior setter Emme Bullis and sophomore libero Elif Hurriyet captained the defense, both tallying 15 digs each accounting for almost half of the Mustangs 64 total digs.
Neither team went on a run of more than four points allowing the score to stay within reach for both competitors until Cal Poly sealed the 25-21 victory.
Close final sets
The Aggies flipped the script in the third set as they held the lead for the entirety of the set besides one lead change.
Davis went on an early 4-0 run forcing Cal Poly to call a timeout that did not work in their favor as Davis scored once again.
A key component of the Mustangs’ only set loss was their lack of defense as they did not reach double digits in digs, which allowed Davis to earn their best offensive performance of the night with a .419% hitting percentage.
“A lot of respect for Davis and what they did this year,” Walters said. “They played brilliant volleyball throughout the regular season, last night against Santa Barabra and tonight as well.”
Cal Poly’s four service errors contributed to the five-point deficit as the Aggies claimed set three with a score of 25-20.
With their ultimate goal in mind, Cal Poly came out full throttle in the final set of the night defeating UC Davis 25-15, putting in both their best offensive and defensive performance of the night. They racked up a .375% hitting percentage and earned 14 digs and four blocks holding the Aggies to a -0.056% hitting percentage.
Late in the set, the Mustangs went on a 6-0 run bringing them to match point. Two points later, redshirt senior outside hitter Annabelle Thalken slammed a ball down for the game-winning kill.
“We could not be more proud of this group,” Walters said.
The Mustangs are seeded No.12 in the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship and will face No. 5 seed BYU in the first round on Dec. 4 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, Calif.