UC Irvine
Cal Poly Battles for First Place Against UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton
10/10/2024 2:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Upcoming Matches
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Big West Conference is stacked to the brim with a six-team log jam at the top of the standings as Cal Poly (10-5, 3-1 BWC) faces one of those teams, UC Irvine, and Cal State Fullerton during a two-match away weekend.
Double-Doubles and Depth
Past the flash of Cal Poly’s hard-hitting arms and ‘Cardiac Stangs’ reputation lies a deeply underrated factor of this team that is a large part of the reason the Mustangs are well into the fight for a conference championship: versatility.
Between Tommi Stockham (5), Kendall Beshear (4), and Emme Bullis (4), the Mustangs have individually collected 13 double-doubles of one kind or another this season.
Stockham, often targeted by opposing servers, has seemed to improve her reception ability this season and her dig numbers are profiting because of it, having recorded at least 5 in all but three matches this season.
Beshear has shined as a hitter and defensive stalwart on the back row, currently second on the team and 12th in the conference with 3.06 digs per set. Her hybrid usage has allowed the Mustangs to attack consistently from multiple places on the court while staying solid on their back foot.
Despite doing an expert job of setting, Bullis has utilized a successful dump-off part of her game that has helped Cal Poly get out of tight situations at the net with the best kills per set numbers of her career thus far.
Aside from attacking, Bullis is also nearly on-pace to break her previous season-high dig numbers with 2.33 per set this season, good for fourth on the team.
A Hail of Hitting
The Mustangs pulled back into first in the Big West for hitting percentage as a team (.239) led by Chloe Leluge (.364) who is also first individually.
Leluge is another piece of the versatility that has made Cal Poly so dangerous, leading the conference in hitting percentage as a middle blocker while also 5th with 1.00 blocks per set.
Not exactly known for her hitting percentage over the years due to an extremely high volume of total attacks as the catalyst of Cal Poly’s kill game, Stockham has enjoyed a more consistent and lucrative year as she continues to make her chances count on the outside.
The redshirt senior is not only fourth in the conference with 3.55 kills per set but is pacing her previous career-high single season hitting percentage with a .225 clip this year.
After last weekend, Stockham has also breached Cal Poly’s top-5 for Division I career kills, passing Adlee Van Winden (2015-18), now with 1,384 kills for 5th all-time.
Cal State Bakersfield transfer Breklyn Pulling has also impressed from the middle. Arguably one of the strongest arms on the squad, Pulling is not far behind Leluge in the conference hitting rankings (6th, .325) while maintaining .74 blocks per set.
S3??| Mustangs take set 3?? 25-12??????
— Cal Poly Volleyball (@CalPolyVolley) October 5, 2024
Tommi Stockham (11 kills, 5 digs)
Kendall Beshear (10 kills, 13 digs)
Breklyn Pulling (9 kills)
CP 3?? - UC Riverside 0??#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/UX5HHXirzD
Back on the road this weekend with matches against the Anteaters and Titans!
— Cal Poly Volleyball (@CalPolyVolley) October 7, 2024
Watch us on ESPN+ ??#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/VD9sDw4LRq
vs… UC Irvine
As with all Big West foes faced thus far in the season, Cal Poly holds an all-time series lead (53-21) over UC Irvine. In fact, the Anteaters are one of the Mustangs’ most played opponents in the history of the program as only a small collection have faced off against Cal Poly more than 70 times.
In the last decade, the Mustangs are 13-5 against UC Irvine, but the last two years have been more competitive with the two teams tied at 3-3 since the canceled pandemic season.
Thanks in part to a stunning reverse sweep over Hawai’i in the Rainbow Wahine’s own gym, the Anteaters are riding momentum that has helped them to the top of the Big West standings among five other teams, including Cal Poly.
UCI plays a defensive game sitting at second in the conference for holding their opponents to a .175 hitting percentage. The Anteaters sport four players who have tallied at least 2.00 digs per set, led by Campbell Jensen (3.58), and are led on the blocking end by Ofure Iselen (1.56 blocks per set) among two other players who have tallied one block per set.
vs… Cal State Fullerton
With the same amount of all-time matches played (74) as they have with UC Irvine, Cal Poly holds a 63-11 series record over Cal State Fullerton. Additionally, the Mustangs are a nearly flawless17-1 against the Titans since 2014.
Cal State Fullerton has fought to a 4-10 record this season but is still winless (0-4) in the conference so far, with losses coming against UCI, Hawai’i, CSUB, and CSUN.
Despite being in the bottom-half of most team statistical categories, Cal State Fullerton’s Ashley Chacon is the clear highlight of the team as she sits fifth in the Big West with 3.71 digs per set.
Following the road weekend, the Mustangs come back home for one of their most challenging stretches this season: UC Santa Barbara and Hawai’i next Thursday and Friday, both at 7:00 p.m. in San Luis Obispo.
