Mustangs Begin Big West Championship Chase Wednesday
11/20/2023 9:22:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
WEEKLY NOTES (PDF)
LONG BEACH, Calif. — After finishing the regular season on a five-match winning streak to finish third in the Big West standings, the Cal Poly volleyball team will open the Big West Championship this week in Long Beach as the No. 3 seed.
The Mustangs (20-10, 14-4 BW), will face No. 6 seed UC Davis on Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside the Walter Pyramid in the First Round, the same team the Mustangs beat in five sets in the regular season finale Saturday. The winner will take on No. 2 seed Hawai'i in the Semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. The championship match will take place Saturday at 5 p.m.
All of the matches will be streamed live on ESPN+. Links to those as well as live stats can be found on the schedule page. Tickets to matches can be purchased at BigWest.org.
The Mustangs won nine of their final 10 matches of the regular season to finish tied for second with Hawai'i in the regular season standings at 14-4, marking the eighth consecutive year finishing in the top three of the Big West standings. At 20-10 overall, they finished with at least 20 wins for the fourth time in the last seven years with the last in 2019.
Offensively, Cal Poly has been led this season by redshirt junior outside hitter Tommi Stockham who averages 3.21 kills per set which ranks fourth in the Big West. This week, Stockham was named First Team All-Big West for the third straight year. Earning Second Team All-Big West honors was redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lizzy Markovska, who's second on the team at 2.93 kills per set, which ranks seventh in the Big West.
Directing the Mustang offense has been setter Emme Bullis, who earned Honorable Mention All-Big West honors for the second year in a row.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: The Mustangs took down UC Davis both times they met this season, most recently this past Saturday in San Luis Obispo in which Cal Poly won it 3-2. The Mustangs have won 14 straight meetings against the Aggies. UC Davis finished the season 13-15 overall and 8-10 in Big West play.
ACE IN THE HOLE: Cal Poly has recorded 205 aces as a team this year which leads the Big West and ranks 26th in the country.
Tommi Stockham leads the Big West with 46 which ranks 45th most in the NCAA.
DEFENSE IS THE CALLING CARD: So far this season, it has been Cal Poly's defense that has led them to several wins. As a team, they rank second in the Big West in blocks per set (2.29).
Individually, libero Jolei Akima is second in the Big West in digs per set at 4.19. Meanwhile, Kate Slack leads the Big West and is 35th in the country in blocks with 131.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE, CAL POLY STYLE: Cal Poly has had several players doing multiple things on the court and reach double-doubles.
Redshirt junior outside hitter Tommi Stockham leads the team with 10 double-doubles so far this season.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lizzy Markovska is right behind her with nine double-doubles.
Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore setter Emme Bullis has four double-doubles through assists and digs.
YOUTH RULES: Cal Poly is one of five teams in Division I without a senior on its roster. The other four are Canisius, Baylor, Nebraska and Syracuse.
LONG BEACH, Calif. — After finishing the regular season on a five-match winning streak to finish third in the Big West standings, the Cal Poly volleyball team will open the Big West Championship this week in Long Beach as the No. 3 seed.
The Mustangs (20-10, 14-4 BW), will face No. 6 seed UC Davis on Wednesday at 7 p.m. inside the Walter Pyramid in the First Round, the same team the Mustangs beat in five sets in the regular season finale Saturday. The winner will take on No. 2 seed Hawai'i in the Semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. The championship match will take place Saturday at 5 p.m.
All of the matches will be streamed live on ESPN+. Links to those as well as live stats can be found on the schedule page. Tickets to matches can be purchased at BigWest.org.
The Mustangs won nine of their final 10 matches of the regular season to finish tied for second with Hawai'i in the regular season standings at 14-4, marking the eighth consecutive year finishing in the top three of the Big West standings. At 20-10 overall, they finished with at least 20 wins for the fourth time in the last seven years with the last in 2019.
Offensively, Cal Poly has been led this season by redshirt junior outside hitter Tommi Stockham who averages 3.21 kills per set which ranks fourth in the Big West. This week, Stockham was named First Team All-Big West for the third straight year. Earning Second Team All-Big West honors was redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lizzy Markovska, who's second on the team at 2.93 kills per set, which ranks seventh in the Big West.
Directing the Mustang offense has been setter Emme Bullis, who earned Honorable Mention All-Big West honors for the second year in a row.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: The Mustangs took down UC Davis both times they met this season, most recently this past Saturday in San Luis Obispo in which Cal Poly won it 3-2. The Mustangs have won 14 straight meetings against the Aggies. UC Davis finished the season 13-15 overall and 8-10 in Big West play.
ACE IN THE HOLE: Cal Poly has recorded 205 aces as a team this year which leads the Big West and ranks 26th in the country.
Tommi Stockham leads the Big West with 46 which ranks 45th most in the NCAA.
DEFENSE IS THE CALLING CARD: So far this season, it has been Cal Poly's defense that has led them to several wins. As a team, they rank second in the Big West in blocks per set (2.29).
Individually, libero Jolei Akima is second in the Big West in digs per set at 4.19. Meanwhile, Kate Slack leads the Big West and is 35th in the country in blocks with 131.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE, CAL POLY STYLE: Cal Poly has had several players doing multiple things on the court and reach double-doubles.
Redshirt junior outside hitter Tommi Stockham leads the team with 10 double-doubles so far this season.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lizzy Markovska is right behind her with nine double-doubles.
Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore setter Emme Bullis has four double-doubles through assists and digs.
YOUTH RULES: Cal Poly is one of five teams in Division I without a senior on its roster. The other four are Canisius, Baylor, Nebraska and Syracuse.
Players Mentioned
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