Since the Mustangs last won the Big West in 2018, the Mustangs have been in the mix at the top of the conference for every season.
However, placing anything else but first in the conference didn’t matter much until this season.
With the new Big West Volleyball Championship, every team in the tournament has a shot to walk away champions. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Mustangs (20-10, 14-4 Big West) ended conference play with a five-game win streak and now have the chance to take the Big West title at the Walter Pyramid at Long Beach State.
The top six teams in the conference play in the tournament with the number one and two seeds getting a first-round bye. The Mustangs are just on the outside of receiving a bye and come in as the third seed.
The Mustangs and sixth-seeded UC Davis will rematch on Nov. 22 at 7 p.m.
Cal Poly bested UC Davis both times this season, winning 3-1 on Oct. 5 and a five-set nail-biter last Saturday in the final game of the regular season.
The tourney will take a pause on Thanksgiving day, and the winner of the Mustangs and the Aggies will play Hawai’i on Friday. The winner of that game advances to the championship Saturday.
Let’s take a look at some key storylines heading into postseason play.
Emergence of new players late in the season
A noteworthy player in the Mustangs’ recent victories is freshman outside hitter Emma Fredrick. She earned Big West Freshman of the Week with an outstanding performance against the Aggies, spotting 17 kills and landing an efficient 35% of her hits.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Lizzy Markovska has been playing through an ankle injury she suffered on Nov. 11 against Long Beach State.
She found a new role in the back row while her ankle is recovering, which may be temporary depending on how the ankle feels and the team’s success during the game.
As a result, Fredrick took her place in the front, leading to an uptick in Fredrick’s playing time and offensive production.
With teams committing more blockers to Tommi Stockham on the outside, Fredrick could potentially be an X-factor for this tournament, as teams such as Hawai’i and UC Santa Barbara have yet to see her abilities in full.
Redshirt freshman Tess Masingale also saw an increase in usage since Markovska’s injury. Against Long Beach State and UC Davis this November, Masingale racked up 25 and 26 total hit attempts, racking up nine kills in each game, which are all the highest of her season thus far.
Masingale, with her “crazy arm” according to Head Coach Caroline Walters, helps the team by turning what could’ve been an awkward angle for a hit to a spike attempt with velocity.
“She can get herself up and available in transition and doesn’t need much of a runway when she’s doing that, so she can land, turn, pivot and is up and available and that really help[s] us offensively,” Walters said.
Freshman defensive specialist Ella Scott also contributed in the back row, tallying a career-high 13 digs against Davis in their last matchup.
Offensive firepower
The Mustangs play well offensively when they dig balls in-system and force blockers to stretch out across the net.
Cal Poly opponents are second to last in the conference in digs per set, but the Mustangs getting the ball past the defenders and in bounds more consistently, especially in the first set, will raise the ceiling of their offense.
The player that teams have most of their attention on will be redshirt junior outside hitter Tommi Stockham. Earning Big West Offensive Player of the Week three times this season and leading the Big West in total kills, Stockham has shown her ability to take over sets when they come down to the wire and is unfazed by pressure.
For example, tied against Long Beach State 25-25 in the second set, Stockham delivered two kills in a row to win the set for the Mustangs. When it was 25-25 in the very next set, she hit her way to 27-25 once again.
Stockham is also second in the Big West in total service aces with 30. The team has 126 in total which is second in the conference.
Of the outside hitters, redshirt sophomore Annabelle Thalken has been the most efficient, hitting .228 this season.
Defensively, there are players also worth noting. Redshirt junior libero Jolei Akima is second in the Big West in total digs.
Earning Big West Defensive Player of the Week and collecting 27 digs against UC Davis last game, she will once again be a key player for the defense when they face off against Davis on Wednesday.
Redshirt junior middle blocker Kate Slack has been a leader in the front row for the Mustangs and is second in the Big West in total blocks.
Fueled by grit
All season, the Mustangs had a great tendency to win from behind. Against the other teams in the Big West Tournament, they have dropped the first set in nine out of ten games and have a 6-4 record.
Cal Poly has played more total sets in conference matches than any other Big West team this season, which contributed to Hawai’i gaining the second seed over them.
As the games go on, the Mustangs tend to improve over time, especially in the fifth set. The Mustangs are 9-2 this season when games go to five sets.
Although reverse sweeps are usually an annual occurrence, the Mustangs pulled off four of them this season, showing that the Mustangs can fight with their backs against the wall.
Cal Poly is 8-4 in both home and away games this season, but the team has not played outside of the Mott Athletics Center since Nov. 3, and their last game at the Walter Pyramid was the first match of conference play.
The Mustangs have shown the ability to come back in games. Multiple times they’ve shaken off rough starts in the first few sets and still come back and win.
But with the nature of a one-and-done tournament, if the Mustangs can’t bounce back after coming out of the gates slow, will they be able to make a comeback with opposing teams locked in on their strengths and weaknesses?
The Mustangs have shown resilience to stay in matches, but the team will likely need to start better in games to make a run in the tournament.