Cal Poly Volleyball Sweeps Arkansas in Dominant Road Victory

Friday, September 5

Fayetteville, AR

5:00 PM

3-2,0-0Big West

Arkansas

1-2,0-0SEC

Cal Poly

Arkansas

Photo by: Meaghan Frazier

Cal Poly Volleyball Sweeps Arkansas in Dominant Road Victory

9/5/2025 9:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Cal Poly volleyball team delivered a commanding performance Friday night, sweeping Arkansas (25-14, 25-19, 25-21) at Barnhill Arena for its first Power-4 sweep since an NCAA Tournament win over Purdue in 2007.

The Mustangs (3-2) controlled the match throughout, hitting .390 as a team with 41 kills and just 9 errors. Arkansas struggled to find consistency, finishing with a .138 hitting percentage.

Annabelle Thalken led all players with a spectacular .778 hitting percentage, putting down 14 kills without an error. Chloe Leluge added 5 kills and a career-high 10 blocks, while Kendall Beshear contributed 9 kills and 13 points. Emme Bullis and Samantha Callahan combined for 36 assists, and Ella Scott anchored the defense with 12 digs.

Cal Poly's 14.5 team blocks were its most since Sept. 2023 and keyed the victory, along with 7 service aces.

The Mustangs set the tone immediately, overcoming an early 3-0 deficit with a devastating run of points. After Arkansas took their largest lead of the set, Cal Poly's serving and blocking took over. A pivotal 9-0 run, fueled heavily by the serving of Ella Scott, turned an 11-10 lead into a commanding 20-10 advantage. Scott served for six consecutive points during that stretch, including two service aces and forcing several Arkansas errors, which eventually led to a definitive 25-14 opening set win.

The second set was more competitive early, with Arkansas staying within striking distance. The Razorbacks briefly held a 10-8 lead, but Cal Poly responded with a 4-0 run to seize control back at 12-10 and never relinquished it. Key blocks from Chloe Leluge and Aveya Stone halted any significant momentum from the home team, while Kendall Beshear provided a crucial spark with several kills as the Mustangs took a strong 2-0 set lead with the 25-19 victory.

Playing for the sweep, Cal Poly raced out to a dominant 9-1 lead, showcasing their most efficient offensive set of the night with a .484 hitting percentage. However, Arkansas showed resilience, mounting a strong comeback to close the gap to 20-18 and threaten to extend the match. The Mustangs' composure held firm. They sided out effectively down the stretch to seal the 25-21 victory.

"I'm really proud of how we played and executed on both sides of the ball tonight," head coach Caroline Walters said glowingly of her squad. "We were more focued from the service line, intentional with our connections in building trust, and executed well because of both. Our goal was to be better by the end of the match than we were at the start. and I thought we accomplished that against a strong Arkansas team."

The Mustangs wrap up the Wooo Pig Invitational and their season-opening road stretch with one final match against Oklahoma, currently receiving votes in the AVCA poll, on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. PT.