UC Santa Barbara
Cal Poly Volleyball Defends First Place During Blue-Green Rivalry Week
10/16/2024 4:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Mustangs (12-5, 5-1 BWC) are looking to end a fourth consecutive week atop the Big West as they once again defend Mott Athletics Center for Blue-Green rivalry week against UC Santa Barbara on Thursday before welcoming Hawai’i to end the week.
Retained first place again with a purely dominant performance tonight! Make that 2? sweeps this weekend!
— Cal Poly Volleyball (@CalPolyVolley) October 13, 2024
??9+ kills: Lizzy Markovska, Amy Hiatt, Breklyn Pulling, Tommi Stockham#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/8bLOPkePab
Join us in Mott Athletics Center this week for a Blue-Green matchup against UCSB and Friday clash with Hawai'i!#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/P9fQ1iVsvd
— Cal Poly Volleyball (@CalPolyVolley) October 14, 2024
Against the Odds
Arguably Cal Poly’s most important pair of home games this season, UC Santa Barbara and Hawai’i have long been the so-called “final bosses” of the Big West for years. That proved true last year as the Gauchos swept the Mustangs in the regular season and Hawai’i bumped them out of the conference championship.
The Mustangs are in no better position to knock off a pair of Big West rivals than they are carrying their current momentum of five shutout wins in the last six matches. Hawai’i (10-6, 4-2 BWC) is one win off the top of the conference, while UCSB (7-11, 3-3 BWC) is two matches behind.
Although one weekend can prove all the difference for the conference’s top-8 programs, the Mustangs have yet to start a new week in anything but first place.
Stats Central
Emme Bullis continues to pace the conference with 10.54 assists per set, which is also 19th in Division I volleyball. She has amassed 2,721 career assists, 8th in the program’s Division I history, and is on pace to breach the top-5 this season.
The Mustangs also sport their pair of standout middle blockers, Chloe Leluge (.361) and Breklyn Pulling (.348), who are both top-100 in the country for hitting percentage while occupying 2nd and 3rd for the Big West.
Over this past weekend during a pair of sweeps, Tommi Stockham moved into fourth for Cal Poly’s career kills number. Her 1,405 kills passed Kari DeSoto (1996-99), but Stockham is only a few matches away from becoming Cal Poly’s third-leading career kills hitter, needing 64 to pass Melanie Hathaway (1997-00).
Cal Poly leads this match already and has overturned an early set three UC Irvine lead thanks to explosive rallies like this!
— Cal Poly Volleyball (@CalPolyVolley) October 12, 2024
CP 2?-0? UCI#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/XKKiS7sJd9
Two-for-two this weekend and five sweeps in our last six matches!
— Cal Poly Volleyball (@CalPolyVolley) October 13, 2024
We're back at home next weekend against UCSB and Hawai'i. ???#RideHighhttps://t.co/APD8M32UYu
Milestone Marks
We officially enter red alert for head coach Caroline Walters with the fourth-year leader of the Mustangs only five wins away from a coveted 100 career win total in Cal Poly’s Division I era; something only 19 coaches in the history of the Big West have done. She would join Mike Wilton (143), Steve Schlick (135), Jon Stevenson (115), and Sam Crosson (114) as Cal Poly coaches with that mark.
Walters is also at 59 career Big West wins, fastly approaching the three-quarters mark to 100 for that as well. She is only seven conference wins away from becoming Cal Poly’s second-winningest head coach in Big West competition.
Walters passed Wilton (55) during the first weekend of conference this season and will next look to pass by Stevenson and Crosson who are both at 66 career Big West wins. Schlick holds the honor of the 6th-best win total in Big West history and most among Mustang head coaches with 84 conference victories in the Division I era.
vs… UC Santa Barbara and Hawai’i
The Gauchos and Rainbow Wahine are two of just three Big West programs that hold bragging rights over the all-time series record against Cal Poly. The Mustangs are 35-55 against UCSB and 10-46 against Hawai’i.
Against UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly is looking to snap a four-match Gaucho win streak in the Blue-Green rivalry with three of those four being sweeps. Meanwhile, despite having a lower win percentage all-time against Hawai’i, the Mustangs are only 2-3 against the Rainbow Wahine since 2022.
Alongside Cal Poly’s own momentum heading into the week, UCSB (.223) and UH (.235) are struggling to stop offenses with the 5th and 3rd highest opponent hitting percentages in the Big West. However, Hawai’i still sports the second best team hitting percentage (.232) in the conference behind the Mustangs themselves (.245).
UH’s Caylen Alexander is having a historic season with 4.98 kills per set, good for first in the Big West and third in the country. The Rainbow Wahine are coming off a split-result weekend with a sweep over UC Riverside after losing to UC Davis at home.
Big West Championship tickets are now available to purchase. First-round play begins on Wednesday, Nov. 27. The winners will advance to take on the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the semifinal round with the championship match slated for Saturday, Nov. 30. All-session tickets are on sale now, starting at $35 for general admission and $50 for lower reserved. Single-game tickets will be available beginning on Oct. 31. To secure your seat, head here.
