UC Irvine
Mustangs Defend 13-Match Home Win Streak Versus Anteaters and Titans
10/16/2025 4:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly has not lost at home since Oct. 26, 2024, and aims to extend that 13-match win streak by hosting UC Irvine (Friday, 6 p.m.) and Cal State Fullerton (Saturday, 2 p.m.) this weekend.
After a tough start to the month, the Mustangs redeemed themselves with a pair of defining victories. They first secured a hard-fought, five-set win (16-25, 25-18, 25-22, 20-25, 15-12) over Blue-Green rivals UC Santa Barbara, marking their third consecutive victory over the Gauchos.
Building on that momentum, Cal Poly then delivered a commanding performance by sweeping Hawai'i (25-20, 25-14, 25-22) on the road. This was the program's first sweep over the Rainbow Wahine since 2019.
The Mustangs have now spent five consecutive weeks, since Sept. 14, ranked in the top-25 of Division I volleyball for hitting percentage (.280) and currently lead the Big West by 41 points.
Chloe Leluge, who led the program last year in hitting percentage, enters the weekend third in the conference (.386). Her career clip (.368) is already well above Cal Poly’s all-time record, assuming she maintains this relative pace through the rest of her career. Even her season clip, if she stays on target, is set to crack the top-10 for a single season in Cal Poly history.
Emma Fredrick led the team with 29 kills (3.63 per set) last week and added the second-most digs (21). The junior was instrumental in retaining bragging rights in the Blue-Green rivalry, delivering one of her best performances of the season with a match-leading 17 kills on a .295 hitting percentage and seven digs. Against Hawai'i, she recorded 12 kills and 14 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Cal Poly's go-to pin hitter now ranks sixth in the Big West for total kills (207).
Elif Hurriyet led all Mustangs last week with 25 digs (3.13 per set), also placing second on the team in both assists (6) and aces (2). Leading the back row, Cal Poly held quality opponents UC Santa Barbara and Hawai'i to a combined .187 hitting percentage. Hurriyet tallied a personal season-high 18 digs in the five-set thriller over the Gauchos.
True freshman Charlotte Kelly was once again Cal Poly's defensive backbone at the net, leading all Mustangs with nine total blocks (1.13 per set). Kelly has extended her multi-block streak to five straight matches, which included resetting her career-high (6) for the second consecutive match following the UC Santa Barbara win.
Emme Bullis contributed 8.88 assists per set in helping guide the Mustang offense to a combined .295 hitting percentage through two matches. Contributing defensively, Bullis also collected 18 digs and four total blocks. She assisted 30+ times for the eighth and ninth times this season.
The Mustangs welcome a pair of mid-table squads in UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton this weekend, as both sit 2-4 in Big West matches and 7-11 overall.
UC Irvine has lost its last four matches to Cal Poly, in which the Mustangs have a 12-2 set advantage, including a pair of dominant sweeps in 2024. The Anteaters can claim conference wins this season over UC Riverside (3-0) and CSUN (3-1); a strong opponent that was perhaps the Big West’s biggest surprise in the non-conference schedule and enjoyed a strong start to the conference slate.
Although the Anteaters are still trying to find consistent offense, they have excelled at making foes struggle for points, currently sitting second in the Big West for opponent hitting percentage (.191) and third for total blocks (160.5). They also lead the Big West at 14.65 digs per set, headed by Campbell Jensen (4.44/set) who is second individually.
Cal State Fullerton has also dropped six straight to the Mustangs, including four sweeps, two of which were last season. The Titans most recently swept Cal State Bakersfield at home and, prior to being swept four consecutive times before that, opened the Big West slate by shocking UC San Diego with a straight-sets victory in La Jolla.
The Titans, though experiencing a tough start to their conference season, have impressed from the service line as they are currently tied with the Mustangs for fifth in the Big West (1.40 aces per set).
Friday evening’s match against the Anteaters will be streamed on ESPN+, but Saturday afternoon versus Cal State Fullerton will not. Following these two home matches, the Mustangs split next week both home and away, traveling to Riverside on Thursday before returning to Mott Athletics Center to host UC Davis.
