Mustangs Host Three Foes for Final Non-Conference Slate at SLO Classic
9/17/2025 3:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly (6-3) enters its final non-conference matchups of the season with significant momentum after winning every set in a trio of sweeps at the Mustang Invitational. Saint Mary’s, No. 20 Utah, and Cal Baptist will visit Mott Athletics Center this weekend to take on the Mustangs.
The Cal Poly volleyball team opened its home schedule with a spectacular undefeated run at its own tournament, securing three decisive victories. The weekend began with a tense 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-23, 25-21) over Northern Colorado in the home opener, a match that required resilience to close out each tightly contested set.
Building on that, the Mustangs delivered a statement win (25-21, 25-22, 25-17) by handily sweeping California, marking their second sweep of a Power Four opponent this season and underscoring the team’s potent capabilities.
The team saved its most dominant performance for last, overwhelming San Jose State in a straight-set victory (25-20, 25-14, 25-20) to complete a flawless tournament run without dropping a single set.
In recognition of their pivotal roles, outside hitter Emma Fredrick was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week, while setter Emme Bullis earned Big West Setter of the Week honors.
Fredrick turned in a fourth consecutive match with at least ten kills, highlighted by a double-double in Sunday's victory against San Jose State, where she matched her personal best of 13 digs to go with 12 kills. Over the weekend, she amassed 38 total kills, an average of 4.22 per set, and also led the team with 27 digs.
Bullis delivered 109 assists and averaged 12.11 per set across the three sweeps. The veteran leader was the driving force behind Cal Poly's .366 hitting efficiency, recording 30 or more assists in each win. She capped her dominant week with double-doubles against both Cal (32 assists, 10 digs) and San Jose State (44 assists, 11 digs), bringing her season total to five.
Saint Mary’s comes to San Luis Obispo for the third consecutive season after losing to the Mustangs 3-2 in 2023, 3-0 in 2024. Having played solely on the road to open the season, the Gaels are 1-7, with their only win being a 3-2 season-opening victory against North Dakota. The Gaels and Mustangs face off at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday.
The No. 20 Utah Utes are Cal Poly’s second ranked opponent this season. The Mustangs took one set off Minnesota in their season opener before falling 3-1 to the No. 11 Golden Gophers. Utah was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 and has put together a 6-2 record so far, including a statement win over No. 24 Dayton. The Mustangs and Utes played three matches from 2019 to 2021; two went to a fifth set, and Cal Poly managed one win in that stretch. The teams play at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
Cal Poly rounds out its non-conference schedule against future Big West foe Cal Baptist. On March 19, 2025, the Big West office announced that the Lancers would join the conference starting in the 2026-27 academic year following the departures of UC Davis and Hawai’i to the Mountain West. This season, Cal Baptist is 4-5 but carries momentum from its own home tournament, where it earned wins over Cal State Fullerton and New Mexico.
The SLO Classic includes six total matches, with two each day. Thursday and Friday’s contests are set for 1:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., while Saturday’s tournament finale features matches at 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Only Cal Poly’s matches will be streamed on ESPN+, but a tournament ticket package for all matches can be purchased HERE.
