BYU
Cal Poly Volleyball Prepares for BYU in NCAA First Round
12/3/2025 1:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly (25-7) is riding a wave of momentum after upsetting UC Davis to claim the program's seventh Division I conference title and 18th NCAA Tournament berth. The Mustangs will face five-seed BYU in the first round at USC's Galen Center on Thursday at 5 p.m.
For the second consecutive year, Cal Poly ended Long Beach State's season in the Big West Championship Semifinals, securing a hard-fought 3-1 victory last Friday. A career-best offensive performance from Chloe Leluge (17 kills, .533 hitting percentage) and a Big West Championship record 51 assists from Emme Bullis propelled the Mustangs to the final.
As the second seed, Cal Poly then upset top-seeded UC Davis 3-1 to win the Big West title and an automatic NCAA bid. Leluge, who committed only one error on 57 attacks throughout the tournament, was named Big West Championship MVP and later to Michella Chester's NCAA Rotation of the Week.
Bullis, who set at an exceptional rate all weekend and helped six attackers reach double-digit kills, assisted on nearly 100 points. The redshirt senior (4,244 career assists) is poised to move up the program's Division I career assists list, sitting just one behind Carly O'Halloran (4,245) and 36 behind Taylor Nelson (4,280).
The Mustang defense delivered one of its best performances when it mattered most, recording 12 total blocks and holding UC Davis to a .169 hitting percentage. The offense finished its conference season with the 18th-best hitting percentage (.280) in Division I.
One day after securing the program's 18th NCAA Tournament appearance, Cal Poly was placed in the Los Angeles Region, hosted by four-seed USC. The two-day, single-elimination event at Galen Center runs from Dec. 4-5. First up is BYU, an at-large selection and top-25 opponent from the Big 12, which stands between Cal Poly and a potential second-round match against either USC or Princeton.
The Mustangs last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and hold a 15-17 all-time record across 17 previous appearances. Their most recent NCAA victory also came in 2019, a five-set win over Georgia before being eliminated by Stanford.
Cal Poly holds a 6-11 series record against BYU. The teams last met in 2016, a 3-0 loss for the Mustangs when BYU was ranked No. 16 nationally. Cal Poly's last win over the Cougars was a 3-2 victory in 2010 under coach Jon Stevenson.
