Cal Poly Volleyball topples No. 4 seed USC, advance to third round of NCAA Tournament for the first time in 18 years

For the first time since 2007, Cal Poly Volleyball is advancing to the third round of the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Tournament, after upsetting No. 4 seed USC in a five-set match on Friday.  

With the 3-2 win, they claimed a spot in the top 16, also known as the “Sweet Sixteen,” and destroyed any remaining perfect tournament brackets in ESPN’s bracket prediction challenge.  

“That was an incredible performance by a group of people that love one another, that love this game and that have committed to something bigger than themselves,” head coach Caroline Walters said.  

The Mustangs have not faced the Trojans since 2012, where they lost in a 3-0 sweep. Ranking at No. 13 in the country and beating three ranked teams throughout the season, USC was favored in Friday’s match. Just like in Thursday’s upset win over BYU, Cal Poly defied the odds once again, ending the Trojan’s season.  

READ MORE: Cal Poly Volleyball upsets BYU to advance to second round of NCAA Tournament 

The Mustangs started the match hot, winning the first two sets 25-19 and 25-20. With a shot at a sweep, the momentum was not enough as they fell to the Women of Troy in set three with a score 25-20, and again took a 25-14 loss in the fourth set, recording their worst offensive performance of the night with a hitting percentage of .079%.  

“I just kept saying to everyone, and I knew everyone else was saying it or thinking it in their heads, but we’re here for a reason,” redshirt senior setter Emme Bullis said. “We’re going to the fifth set for a reason.” 

Despite the back to back losses, the Mustangs came up big in set five, mirroring sets one and two and dominating USC 15-7 to send themselves to the next round of the tournament.

“I am in awe of my team,” Walters said. 

Fredrick and Beshear lead the charge

Two standout players for the Mustangs throughout the entirety of the season have been junior outside hitter Emma Fredrick and sophomore outside hitter Kendall Beshear. Through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament their dominance has only increased. 

In Friday’s match both achieved double-doubles with Fredrick leading both the offense and defense with 17 kills and 17 digs, while Beshear notched 12 kills and 14 digs.  

During the season, Beshear led the Big West Conference with 52 service aces followed by Fredrick in the No. 3 spot with 37. The pair combined for three out of Cal Poly’s eight total service aces against USC. 

“Being able to go back there and knowing that I have the support of everyone around me to just go be free and be smiley and take a rip out of the ball … that’s what gives me the confidence to do what I can do,” Beshear said.  

Dominant on defense 

With a player earning a new career high in blocks and four players entering the double digits in digs, Cal Poly’s defense worked like a charm in helping them secure the upset win.  

Freshman middle blocker Charlotte Kelly was a force to be reckoned with at the net as she notched seven blocks, a career high and accounted for over half of Cal Poly’s blocks. Kelly is getting her first ever tournament action this season after she was moved up to the starting rotation when redshirt middle blocker Breklyn Pulling faced a season-ending injury over the summer.  

“I think Charlotte Kelly is the unsung hero of this group,” Walters said. “Her coming in as a true freshman and doing what she does is insane,” 

Following closely behind Fredrick in defensive statistics, sophomore libero Elif Hurriyet claimed the second defensive spot in tonight’s match as she brought in 16 digs. 

Racking in 71 digs and 10 blocks, the Mustangs were able to hold the Trojans at an overall hitting percentage of .237%, just under their season. 

The Mustangs are up for a challenge as they will head to Kentucky to face No.1 seed University of Kentucky in the regional semifinals on Dec. 11 at 12:30 p.m. 

The Wildcats are on a 24 game winning streak and have an overall record of 27-2, only losing to No. 1 ranked University of Nebraska and No. 7 ranked University of Pittsburgh.