LOS ANGELES — After months of preparation, Cal Poly’s historic Friday night culminated in a stunning five-set upset of fourth-seeded USC (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 14-25, 15-7), shattering every perfect bracket along the way.

The unseeded Mustangs (27-7) not only advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 2007, the seventh such appearance in program history, but also became the only team in the bracket to defeat two seeded opponents ranked lower than No. 6. Cal Poly’s last deep runs came in 2007, 1989, ‘87, ‘85, ‘84, and ‘82.

In a departure from their typical all-court offense, the Mustangs leaned on their pin hitters to secure a second straight ranked victory. Leading the charge was Emma Fredrick, who delivered a statement double-double with match-highs of 17 kills and 17 digs. Kendall Beshear and Annabelle Thalken followed with 12 kills apiece, with Beshear adding a pair of aces.

Freshman middle Charlotte Kelly anchored the net with a career-high seven block assists, part of a 10-block team effort that quieted USC’s top-50 offense to a .237 hitting percentage. Beshear (14 digs) and setter Emme Bullis (44 assists, 12 digs) also recorded double-doubles, helping limit USC’s top hitters, Leah Ford and London Wijay, to 19 kills on 55 swings.

Cal Poly stormed through the opening set behind relentless blocking, forcing an early USC timeout at 11-6. Despite a late Trojan push to narrow the gap to 22-18, a Caroline Walters timeout steadied the Mustangs, who closed out the frame 25-19.

USC responded by edging ahead 15-13 at the second-set media timeout. But after 13 ties and five lead changes, Cal Poly surged late with a 21-18 advantage and never looked back, taking the set 25-20.

The Women of Troy rallied in the third, building their largest lead at 17-12 and holding on to win 25-20. Momentum carried into the fourth, where USC raced ahead to claim it 25-14 and force a deciding fifth set.

In the tiebreaker, Cal Poly’s second of the tournament, the Mustangs broke a 3-3 deadlock with a commanding 12-4 run, sealing the match and their spot in the Third Round.

Now, one of the finest teams in program history, and a standout in recent mid-major volleyball, travels to Lexington to face No. 1 seed and regional host Kentucky.

The NCAA will announce date and time details Saturday evening. Until then, San Luis Obispo’s humble Mustangs have plenty to celebrate.

Penn State was in the Lone Star State on Friday, taking on South Florida in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The teams met in Austin at the Gregory Gymnasium, home of the Texas Longhorns women’s volleyball team.

This wasn’t the first time the Nittany Lions and the Bulls have met; however, it was their first time in tournament play, but the blue and white have a 3-0 record over USF.

Penn State took out the Bulls 3-1 after a tight match with challenges and back-and-forth play to thank for that.

Middle blocker Maggie Mendelson opened up the scoring for the Nittany Lions, and right-side hitter Kennedy Martin went up over the net to make it two.

Outside hitter Maria Clara Andrade got the Bulls their first point of the night and USF’s first point in NCAA tournament play since its last appearance in 2003.

USF kept good coverage in the first set to keep the Nittany Lions at a distance, as well as landing kill after kill, which put it ahead of the Nittany Lions 15-10 halfway through the first set.

The blue and white came back with a crucial ace by libero Gillian Grimes, and Martin sent kills through USF’s defense, which tied the Nittany Lions 16-16. Setter Addie Lyon backed up Grimes and made good digs that kept the ball in play, which allowed the Nittany Lions to get to set point and take the first set 25-23.

Andrade kept the Nittany Lions on their toes, and she was there to give the blue and white a back-and-forth first set.

The second set started off strong for USF with outside hitter Addy Brus adding two kills to the Bulls’ score, both landing in the center of the Nittany Lions’ side of the court. Middle blocker Iyanna Garvin continued to get up over the net, as well, and Laila Ivey delivered a housed block, which shut down Penn State and kept a lead.

A crucial point that would close the gap between USF and Penn State was called a service error on Brus, but after it was challenged by the Bulls, the point was given to them as an ace. This put USF 15-10 halfway through the second set.

The Bulls reached set point 24-12 and took the second set 25-12.

The third set saw the blue and white take control by capitalizing on USF’s errors, getting it ahead of the Bulls. Outside hitter Caroline Jurevicius had a strong kill that gave the Nittany Lions some wiggle room, but that was closed by Ivey with a kill of her own.

Lyon kept racking up assists and setting up her offense for multiple kills to keep up with USF, which led halfway through the third set 16-14.

The Nittany Lions tied with the Bulls, 18-18, after an attack error by Brus. The point was challenged by USF, but the call remained the same after further review.

Penn State reached set point after the point was challenged by USF. Penn State took the third set 25-21.

Penn State continued its string of errors early in the fourth set, which the Bulls used to get a lead early on. Outside hitter Emmi Sellman delivered an important ace that closed a previously narrow gap between the Nittany Lions and the Bulls, and a kill by Jurevicius as well as an attack error by Andrade, tied the teams 10-10.

Penn State advanced to match point after it pulled away late in the fourth set, and took the fourth set 25-19, winning the match and moving on in the NCAA tournament.

Up next

Penn State will face the winner of No. 1-seed Texas and Florida A&M at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Austin, Texas.

MORE VOLLEYBALL COVERAGE

LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 1 Nebraska volleyball team began its NCAA Tournament with a 25-11, 25-15, 25-17 sweep of Long Island University on Friday night in front of a crowd of 8,656 at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. 

Nebraska improved to 31-0 on the season and hit .476, a postseason school record in the rally-scoring era. LIU (20-9) was held to .094 hitting, the 14th time this season Nebraska has held an opponent under .100. 

Andi Jackson had 10 kills and five blocks and hit. 833. Jackson’s .833 hitting percentage was a postseason school record. Rebekah Allick added 10 kills on .750 hitting, which would rank No. 3 in postseason school history. Before Saturday, no Husker had ever hit .750 or better in a three-set NCAA Tournament match. 

Harper Murray and Taylor Landfair each had seven kills, and Virginia Adriano recorded six. Bergen Reilly posted 39 assists and 11 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. 

The Huskers had a 47-24 advantage in kills, 10-2 in blocks, 5-1 in aces and 39-25 in digs. Olivia Mauch tied Reilly for the team high in digs with 11. 

Set 1: The Huskers got hot with a 4-0 run that made it 13-7. Allick had a kill, and Jackson had a block with Adriano and a kill during Mauch’s service run. Murray and Jackson added kills to put the Big Red up 15-9 and start a 7-0 run. Landfair, Jackson and Murray all had kills, and Murray served two aces during the run. NU closed out the set, 25-11, with kills by Jackson, Allick and Landfair and a block by Landfair and Allick. NU hit .615 and held LIU to .034.

Set 2: Sigler started the set with an ace, and Murray and Allick had kills around an Allick block for a 4-0 lead. Adriano added two kills and a block with Allick, who also had a kill, as the Huskers went up 15-7 at the media break. NU remained on top, and back-to-back aces by Reilly gave NU a 23-12 advantage. Allick added two kills as the Huskers won 25-15.

Set 3: The Huskers got off to a 7-1 start with two kills and two blocks by Jackson. The Huskers continued their onslaught with kills from Allick and Sigler for a 15-5 lead. Skyler Pierce hammered a kill to make it 18-6. Manaia Ogbechie tallied two kills, and Reilly and Allick each notched one for a 23-12 Husker lead. NU finished off the sweep, 25-17.

Up Next: The Huskers will play Kansas State in the second round on Saturday at 7 p.m. at John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The Wildcats defeated San Diego, 3-2, in the first round on Friday. 

Notes
• Nebraska’s .476 hitting percentage is a new Nebraska NCAA Tournament record in the rally-scoring era. The previous mark of .467 was set by the 2008 squad against UAB. 
• Andi Jackson hit .833 on the night. That mark surpassed NU’s previous NCAA Tournament all-time record, which had been held by Cecilia Hall, who hit .824 at Washington in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
• Jackson and fellow middle blocker Rebekah Allick combined for 20 kills on just 24 swings. Jackson hit .833 and Allick hit .750. Before tonight, no Husker had ever hit .750 or better in a three-set NCAA Tournament match.
• With her four blocks on the night, Rebekah Allick now has 80 career postseason blocks. That puts her at fifth in Nebraska history, passing Jenny Kropp (1998-2001) who had 78 postseason blocks.
• Nebraska officially made its 44th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Huskers rank second all-time in NCAA Tournament appearances and consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (44).
• With the win, Nebraska improved to 135-38 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The Huskers rank second in NCAA history in postseason wins and winning percentage (.780).
• The win was Nebraska’s 31st consecutive victory, which ties for the third-longest winning streak in the NCAA era.
• Nebraska improved to 38-1 all-time in first-round NCAA Tournament matches. The Huskers have won their last 37 first-round matches dating back to 1984.
• The Huskers improved to 88-7 all-time in home NCAA Tournament matches, including a 33-2 record at the Devaney Center.
• Nebraska has won 27 consecutive home matches in the NCAA Tournament, a school record.
• Overall, Nebraska has won 61 consecutive home matches dating back to Dec. 1, 2022. That ranks as the sixth-longest streak in NCAA Division I history and the third-longest streak in Husker history.
• The Huskers improved to 63-1 all-time against unranked opponents in the NCAA.
• Dani Busboom Kelly won her first NCAA Tournament match as Nebraska’s head coach. She is 1-0 in the postseason as Nebraska’s head coach and 23-8 overall as a head coach. Busboom Kelly posted an 11-3 record as a player from 2003-06 and a 19-4 record as a Husker assistant from 2012-16.
• Nebraska is 105-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when taking a 2-0 lead.
• Nebraska is 89-0 this season in sets when reaching 20 points first.
• Nebraska has hit above .300 in 21 of its last 22 matches.
• Nebraska hit above .400 for the eighth time this season. That ties the 2005 team for the most matches hitting above .400 in the rally-scoring era (2001-present).

In the 2019 NCAA DI women’s volleyball tournament, there were two pretty big upsets with Cincinnati taking down No. 6 Pittsburgh (No. 1 in RPI) and Louisville defeating No. 2 seed Texas in a five-set showdown. We gathered and ranked what we think are 10 of the greatest upsets in the history of the tournament since its inception in 1981.

For this list, we considered each team’s RPI entering the NCAA tournament, the conferences each team came from, the location of the upset and whether or not they received an at-large or an automatic bid.

10. 2007: Sacramento State over Minnesota (first round)

In the final year of six straight Big Sky championships and NCAA tournament bids, Sacramento State pulled off the biggest upset of the 2007 tournament when it beat at-large Big Ten team Minnesota in four sets.

In the final RPI rankings of the season, Minnesota finished 31st and Sacramento State finished 55th. We can only assume that gap was much greater on selection day. Regardless, a Big Ten team getting beat in the first round by a team from the Big Sky was unprecedented. The Big Sky hasn’t advanced in the tournament since the 2007 Hornets, who lost to No. 1 Stanford in the second round.

9. 2000: Southeast Missouri State beat North Carolina (first round)

North Carolina might not have been a national seed, but as the automatic bid from the ACC, losing in the first round to the Ohio Valley champion is shocking. Now, the Redhawks were undefeated in the OVC that year, but were 6-8 in the nonconference season.

RPI rankings do not exist from 2000 in the NCAA’s archive, so we weren’t able to compare their actual rankings at the time of the upset. The Redhawks lost to No. 14 Florida in the next round.

8. 2002: Temple beat No. 12 overall seed Penn State (second round)

Can you imagine Penn State losing on its home court in the second round of the tournament today? Me neither. But in 2002 — six years before Penn State would win the first of four straight national championships — the A-10 champs rolled out of Rec Hall with the upset of the tournament.

To date, it is Temple’s only trip to the regional semifinals. The Owls have not made it to the NCAA tournament since 2002.

WATCH: Every ace from the 2019 volleyball semifinals and finals

7. 2013: American beat No. 16 Duke (second round)

Any time a national seed gets beat in the first weekend, it’s an upset. When it comes to an automatic bid in straight sets, it’s a bit more shocking. Especially when considering this American team upset Georgia in the first round before beating the Blue Devils to advance to the regional semifinals.

Ranked 45th in RPI to start the tournament to Duke’s No. 12 RPI ranking, American provided the biggest surprise of the first weekend and the only time a national seed has lost to a team from the Patriot League. The Eagles, who won 34 games that year, also took a set from No. 1 Texas before losing in the next round.

6. 2019: Louisville over No. 2 Texas (third round)

Louisville pulled off an upset of No. 2-seeded Texas to advance to the program’s first appearance in the final eight of the tournament. Texas was a strong favorite going in. The Longhorns sported very strong offensive numbers and held the No. 1 spot for a good portion of the second half of the regular season. The thing about Texas this season was that no one had beaten them at Gregory Gymnasium. Their crowd was unmatched. Many predictions had Texas cruising through to the national semifinals. 

Louisville took the first two sets 25-22 before losing the next two. But the Cardinals finished off the upset with a 15-12 win in the fifth set. The Cardinal were led by a career-best 23 kills from redshirt freshman Aiko Jones. This win was the biggest upset of the 2019 volleyball tournament. Following the win, the Cardinals fell to Minnesota. 

5. 2014: BYU beat No. 2 Texas (national semifinal)

There have been just a handful of teams that have made it to the national semifinals as an unseeded team. But only BYU made it to the national championship match after beating the second-ranked Longhorns in four sets.

The Cougars also beat No. 11 Arizona, No. 6 Florida State and No. 16 Nebraska to make it to the semifinals. They would fall to Penn State in the title match, but their run is still remembered well four years later. Most didn’t give BYU a chance against Texas, which entered the match with two losses.

4. 2011: Kansas State beat No. 2 Nebraska (second round)

Winners of the Big Ten in its first year as a member, Nebraska was a hot pick to win the national championship. But Big 12 at-large selection Kansas State wanted to give a proper farewell gift to its former conference opponent.

No. 2 seeds get upset in the tournament, no doubt. It just rarely happens in the first weekend, to Nebraska, in front of about 8,000 people in Lincoln. Kansas State was 26th in RPI entering the tournament, so the Wildcats were a solid team. This was just a game that stopped the volleyball world still.

3. 2015: American beat Kentucky (first round)

Yes, American was still good after its 2013 run, and it pulled off a more shocking upset against Kentucky, which was 21st in RPI. The Eagles were 77th despite an undefeated Patriot League season.

It seems that when American pulls off these upsets, the match isn’t ever in doubt. It swept the Wildcats before losing to Ohio State in straight sets in the second round. Kentucky was 21-9 that season.

2. 2012: Michigan beat No. 2 Stanford (regional final)

Like 2014 BYU, Michigan is one of the unseeded teams to advance to the national semifinals. Both runs were incredible, but this one was a greater upset for it came basically on the road — in California — against the No. 1 RPI team, Stanford. Michigan was 31st in RPI.

The Wolverines had lost 11 times in the regular season, but when it came to the tournament, they were unstoppable, knocking off the Cardinal in four sets.

1. 2010: Missouri beat No. 5 Northern Iowa (first round)

This is still the highest seed to lose in the first round since teams were seeded 1-16 beginning in 2000, so naturally it had to be the top upset in tournament history.

At 30-2 and an RPI ranking of fourth, some felt the Panthers were deserving of a top-four seed. Nonetheless, the Missouri Valley champs couldn’t defend home court in the first match of the tournament against a Missouri team that snuck into the tournament. Missouri went on to lose in the regional semifinals to No. 12 Duke, but this result is about as close as volleyball has come to the basketball equivalent of a double-digit seed knocking off a No. 1 seed.

WATCH: Kerri Walsh’s Stanford volleyball highlights

Honorable mention upsets:

2019: Cincinnati over No. 6 Pittsburgh (second round) 

1995: Michigan State over Hawaii (regional final)

2005: Santa Clara over No. 4 Arizona (regional final)

2005: No. 15 Tennessee over No. 2 Penn State (regional semis)

2006: Middle Tennessee State over Louisville (first round)

2010: No. 16 Purdue over No. 1 Florida (regional semis)

2010: Tulsa over No. 13 LSU (first round)

2010: Washington beat No. 2 Nebraska (regional semis)

2013: Purdue over No. 4 Missouri (second round)

2014: Arkansas Little-Rock beat No. 16 Kansas (first round)

2025: Cal Poly over No. 4 Southern California (second round)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The UCLA women’s volleyball team suffered a four-set defeat to No. 1-seed Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
 
Set scores were 28-30, 16-25, 30-28, 17-25.
 
In a hotly contested matchup featuring two extended deuce sets, UCLA (19-13) was unable to withstand the offensive firepower of Kentucky (27-2). The Wildcats hit an impressive .400 as a team, powered by standout performances from Brooklyn Deleye (30 kills) and Eva Hudson (27 kills).
 
In her final appearance in the Blue and Gold, Cheridyn Leverette rose to the occasion with a team-high 22 kills at a .294 clip. She closes her Bruin career ranked 24th on UCLA’s all-time kills list, cementing her legacy as one of the program’s most consistent offensive threats.
 
Marianna Singletary added 15 kills and two blocks, while Eliana Urzua chipped in 11 kills to give UCLA three attackers in double figures. Setter Kate Duffey orchestrated the offense with 50 assists, her fourth straight match reaching that mark, falling just one dig shy of a double-double.
 
 At libero, Lola Schumacher anchored the defense with 20 digs, her fourth consecutive 20-dig effort.
 
After the teams battled to 14-14 in the third frame, neither side led by more than two points as the teams traded blows. Singletary hammered a from the middle before Leverette found some seams on the pin, but Kentucky would nudge ahead 23-21, forcing a UCLA timeout. However, the Bruins regrouped and fought off two set points with clutch swings from Leverette and Urzua. 
 
The drama escalated into deuce territory. UCLA earned its first set point at 26-25 after a Singletary kill, only to see Kentucky erase it with a quick side-out. The Bruins pressed again, forcing another set point at 28-27, but the Wildcats answered once more. Finally, Leverette delivered the decisive blow, her 16th kill of the night, slamming down the ball to seal a 30-28 victory.
 
In the opening set, UCLA jumped out to a 5-1 lead behind Leverette’s serving run, but Kentucky quickly answered with consecutive scoring bursts to seize momentum. The Bruins rallied late, forcing three set points at 23-22, 26-25, and 28-27, but the Wildcats closed on a decisive 3-0 run to take the opener, 30-28. Singletary tallied seven kills in the frame, with Leverette adding six.
 
UCLA briefly held a 5-4 edge in the second frame, but Kentucky’s 6-1 surge swung control. Leverette reached double-digit kills by the media timeout, yet a seven-point run pushed the Wildcats ahead 21-12 en route to a 25-16 win.
 
Singletary’s back-to-back aces helped UCLA tie the score at 5-5, but Kentucky’s balanced attack proved too much. The Wildcats pulled away 25-17 to clinch the match and advance to the round of 16.
 

NORMAN — The Oklahoma men’s and women’s track and field team closed out the OU Winter Field Fest on Friday night at the Mosier Indoor Facility, highlighted by 12 individual event wins.

Floyd Whitaker kicked off the meet with a personal-best jump of 16.40m (53’9.75″) to win the event title and mark No. 6 in the OU history books.

In the men’s weight throw, Brendon See tossed a personal-best 21.05m (69’0.75″), claiming the event title and moving his name up to No. 2 in OU history.

During her debut with the Sooners, Jacelyn Neighbors secured the women’s pole vault title, clearing 19.15m (62’10”).

In her first collegiate track meet, former OU volleyball player Hannah Pfiffner put up a stellar performance, clearing 1.79m (5’6.5″) in the women’s high jump, good for a personal best and tied for No. 7 in OU history.

Kennedy Clarke found success in the women’s weight throw with her mark of 19.15m (62’10”).

Breaking into OU’s top-ten performance list at No. 5, newcomer Kennedy Stringfellow marked 7.77m (25’6″) for the men’s long jump title.

OU’s Tucker Smith claimed the men’s shot put title with his toss of 18.65m (61’2.25″).

Sophomore Samuel Toili finished first in the men’s 60m dash with his personal-best time of 6.81. Newcomer Morgan Little stood out in her first performance for the Sooners, claiming the women’s 60m dash title and staking her name at No. 4 in the OU history books.

In her collegiate debut, freshman Kassidi Watkins claimed the women’s long jump title, marking 6.18m (20’3.5″).

Redshirt-freshman Tyley Dotson nailed a 15.20m (49’10.5″) in the women’s shot put, earning the event title.

Closing out the night, Trey Bartholomew cleared 6.18m (20’3.5″) in men’s high jump, earning himself the event title and moving his name up to No. 3 in the OU record book. Junior Tyson Ritz also etched himself into the history book at No. 9 with his clearance of 2.18m (7’1.75″).

The Sooners collected 26 more personal bests for a total of 34 on the day.

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Following the completion of the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Dec. 6, Oklahoma returns to action on January 16 at home, hosting the Owen Hewett Invitational.

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