Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s season of revenge is complete.
After losing the championship final as the No. 1 seed a year ago, the Mustangs avenged last season’s finish, defeating the UC Davis Aggies 3-1 in the Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship final to win their first conference title on Saturday, Nov. 29 at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.
“I think back to last year, where we went down two starters, played great and made it to the finals,” Cal Poly head coach Caroline Walters said. “We talk a lot in our program about things happening and looking back, and I think tonight it came full circle.”
The Mustangs completes the Big West Tournament bracket, as they capture their first conference championship and first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2019. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current
To reach its championship coronation, Cal Poly had to topple Long Beach State on its home turf in the semifinals, after skipping through the first round with a bye as the No. 2 seed.
In the final, the Mustangs stole the No. 1 seed Aggies’ chance at a storybook finish to their surprising run this season.
In the pursuit of its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance, UC Davis was led by Big West Player of the Year and sophomore outside hitter Jade Light, the Big West Setter of the Year in junior Mia Starr, the Big West Libero of the Year in sophomore Ximena Cordero Barr and the Big West Coach of the Year Dan Conners.
However, the Mustangs overcame, becoming the only team to defeat the Aggies twice in the Big West this season.
“I’m incredibly proud of our group and the effort they put forward all year,” Conners said. “It’s been a fun journey, lot of ups and downs, and it’s never fun to finish a season when you’re this close to the championship.”
Ranking second in aces per set in the Big West this season, Cal Poly sophomore outside hitter and All-Big West First Team selection Kendall Beshear flipped the opening set on its head when she made her way to the service line.
“I’ve tried to change my outlook on serving as, ‘I just get to go back there and hit the crap out of the ball,’” Beshear said. “I had a missed serve this game that literally hit the stands on the other side and I look over to [the coaching staff] and they’re like, “Great miss!’”
Holding a slight 9-8 lead early, UC Davis could not hope to defend against Beshear’s serves, as the power in the Palos Verdes native’s arm had the Aggie defense reeling.
Beshear engineered an 8-1 run for the Mustangs, putting the Aggies in a hole they could not dig themselves out of, as Cal Poly took the first set comfortably after an errant attack by Light sealed it at 25-16.
The first set was won and lost at the service line, as the Aggies recorded a whopping six service errors while giving up three aces to the Mustangs.
Beshear recorded five kills, two aces and two blocks in the match, and was a major momentum shifter anytime she went up to serve.
Cal Poly sophomore outside hitter and All-Big West First Team selection Kendall Beshear goes up to spike the ball past the UC Davis defense in the Mustangs’ Big West Championship victory on Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Pyramid. Beshear recorded five kills and two aces in the win. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current
“[Beshear’s] got a great serve and you’ve got to do everything you can to try and disrupt that and slow her down,” Conners said. “The thing about serving is that the individual has the most control in that moment, so you can only do so much to disrupt her rhythm.”
Nothing symbolized the Aggies’ struggles on Saturday night better than a herculean effort in the early goings of the second set by Mustang redshirt senior Emme Bullis.
The All-Big West First Team setter went into the courtside seats to save a ball going out of bounds, hitting it just barely over the net, only for it to fall in between three Aggie defenders, as a defensive breakdown led to a rare kill for Bullis.
After recording 34 assists in the championship victory, Bullis reflected on how her team’s immense chemistry off the court has helped her be completely dialed in with her hitters this season.
“We treat each other with so much love and so with the way we respect each other, we know we’re going to have each other’s backs,” Bullis said. “We just have to try and execute volleyball, and we do a really good job at it.”
The Mustangs celebrate a point during the first set of their Big West Championship victory over UC Davis on Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Pyramid. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current
Light shined for UC Davis in the second set, as the woman who led the Big West in kills per set this season racked up six of her 19 total kills, but the Cal Poly offensive onslaught proved to be too potent to overcome.
The Mustangs built a commanding 23-18 lead through the attacking prowess of sophomore middle blocker and All-Big West Second Team selection Chloe Leluge and junior outside hitter Emma Fredrick, who recorded five and four kills in the set, respectively.
Light tried to open a window for the Aggies with a stretch of three straight kills, but UC Davis’s poor serving performance reared its ugly head once again, as a service error wrapped the set up at 25-21.
Fighting for their season in the third set, the Aggies fought desperately to not be sent home without hardware, as they raced out to a 14-8 lead.
But Cal Poly was unwilling to lose focus up 2-0, and fought back to tie it at 18 all.
With the momentum firmly in the Mustangs grasp and a sweep seeming imminent, Light proved once again why she was the Big West Player of the Year.
Outdoing her spectacular second set performance, Light racked up eight kills in the third, with four coming after Cal Poly tied it at 18. Light’s final strike to the back line of the Mustang defense secured the set victory at 25-20.
Reflecting on her historic season as the first Big West POY in program history, a tearful Light credited her teammates and coaching staff for her immense growth in her senior year.
“The success I’ve had this year is a direct reflection of my teammates and how they support me every day,” Light said. “When I saw [the POY announcement] I was very shocked, because I really just wanted to be out here playing with my friends, I’m not here to earn accolades or things like that.”
In the fourth and final set, the Aggies continued to be plagued by its struggles at the service line, as they finished the game with 16 errors and zero aces.
With Cal Poly ahead 19-14 late following a UC Davis timeout, Fredrick took the Mustangs the majority of the way home with two block assists and a kill to set up match point.
To win the championship and send the Mustangs to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, redshirt senior outside hitter Annabelle Thalken nailed a clutch cross-court dagger set up by Bullis to end the set 25-15.
Cal Poly redshirt senior outside hitter Annabelle Thalken delivered a cross-court kill to seal the championship victory over UC Davis on Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Pyramid. Thalken racked up five kills to help lead the Mustangs to their first Big West title. Rehansa Kulatilleke | Long Beach Current
Leluge led the Mustangs with 16 kills in the championship victory, and was named Big West Tournament MVP.
Following the championship victory, Walters reminisced on how Leluge’s fun-loving personality has changed her coaching style.
The coach with over 17 years of experience admitted that some of Leluge’s quirks, like her forgetfulness leading to her losing her volleyball shoes three times throughout the tournament, would have made a past version of Walters question the player’s commitment.
However, through the middle blocker’s two years with the program, Walters has found that Leluge just has her own style, and the team’s embrace of it has led to major success.
“I like playing volleyball, I’m silly, goofy, and it’s just so nice to have a team that responds to that,” Leluge said. “It’s just really cool to see that I can make an impact that way, not just with my play, but with my personality as well.”
The Mustangs now await the selection show to decide the 64-team bracket for the NCAA Tournament on ESPN on Sunday at 3 p.m., as they will find out who they face in the first round.
A senior at CSULB, Timothy Hessen serves as the Sports Editor of the Long Beach Current. First joining the Current as a copy assistant editor as a junior, Timothy has written about sports in several different publications, including the Long Beach Current, the Coast Report and the Laguna Beach Independent. After graduation, Timothy hopes to pursue a career in journalism or public relations, with the long-term goal of either covering or working for an NFL or NBA team.