After months of preparation, the Cal Poly Mustangs women’s volleyball team achieved a five-set upset over fourth-seeded USC in Los Angeles on Friday night. The victory, with set scores of 25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25, and 15-7, marks Cal Poly’s seventh appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 and their first since 2007.
The unseeded Mustangs improved to a record of 27-7 and became the only team in this year’s tournament to defeat two seeded opponents ranked lower than No. 6. Previous Sweet 16 appearances for Cal Poly occurred in 2007, 1989, 1987, 1985, 1984, and 1982.
Cal Poly relied on strong performances from its pin hitters rather than its usual all-court offense. Emma Fredrick led the team with a double-double of match-highs: 17 kills and 17 digs. Kendall Beshear and Annabelle Thalken each contributed 12 kills; Beshear also recorded two aces.
Freshman middle Charlotte Kelly anchored the defense at the net with a career-high seven block assists as part of a collective effort that limited USC’s offense to a .237 hitting percentage. Both Beshear (14 digs) and setter Emme Bullis (44 assists, 12 digs) posted double-doubles as well.
The Mustangs took control early in the first set with effective blocking that forced an early timeout from USC at an 11-6 scoreline. After USC narrowed the gap late in the set to make it 22-18, head coach Caroline Walters called a timeout for Cal Poly before her team closed out the frame at 25-19.
USC managed to take leads during both the second and third sets but could not hold off Cal Poly’s late surges. The Women of Troy claimed victories in both the third (25-20) and fourth (25-14) sets to force a deciding fifth set.
In the final set—Cal Poly’s second tiebreaker win of this tournament—the Mustangs broke away from a tied score at three points apiece with a decisive run to secure their place in the next round.
Cal Poly will now travel to Lexington to face top-seeded Kentucky in regional play. Details regarding date and time will be announced by NCAA officials Saturday evening.
“We’re so proud of our team’s fight tonight,” said head coach Caroline Walters after the match. “They believed they could do this together.”
