Set 1
The two teams went back-and-forth as Cal Poly took a 15-14 lead at the media timeout. Davis and Little Chambers had four kills apiece in the early going.
Again trading points, the Mustangs scored two straight to take a 19-17 lead, forcing a BYU timeout. The Cougars then used their second timeout down 21-18.
Cal Poly would take the final four points of the opening set, closing it on a 6-1 run as part of an 8-2 run, 25-19.
Set 2
BYU responded with an early 5-0, fueled by a Bower ace and two more Davis kills, to lead 6-2. After a 3-0 Mustang run, the Cougars answered with a 4-0 stretch on a pair of Kemavor kills, forcing a Cal Poly timeout ahead 12-7.
Weathering another 3-0 Cal Poly run, the Cougars had four two-point mini runs to hold their advantage, and the Mustangs took their second timeout at 20-13, BYU. Down the stretch, a Callahan-Wallace double block, their first of the match, and two Callahan kills closed it out, 25-17.
Set 3
Trading points to begin the third, BYU answered a 3-0 Cal Poly run with two of their own, getting two kills from Little Chambers and one from Kemavor as it forced a Mustang timeout at 10-6. After a 3-0 Cal Poly run that cut the BYU lead to 15-14, kills by Callahan and Kemavor stretched the Cougar advantage back out to 19-16.
Bower won a joust at the net, Little Chambers scored out of the back row, Davis set back an overpass kill and Callahan had a kill off the block, forcing the Mustangs’ second timeout at 23-19. A Cal Poly error and Little Chambers kill then closed things out, 25-20
Set 4
The Mustangs jumped out to a 6-3 lead before a 3-0 Cougar run tied the fourth frame at nine. A 5-0 Cal Poly run, spanning BYU’s first timeout, made it 14-9, Mustangs.
The Cougars scored three straight, including Uluave’s second ace, and kept within striking distance at 18-16. The two teams traded points from there, but Cal Poly closed the set on a 4-0 run to earn a 25-20 win.
Set 5
Trading points to start the final frame, the Mustangs scored four in a row, spanning both the media timeout and BYU’s first timeout. Cal Poly led 12-7 when the Cougars took their second timeout.
Kills by Kemavor and Davis made it 13-10, forcing a Mustang timeout. Cal Poly took the next two points, however, closing out the match, 15-10.
Postgame Quotes
Following the match, head coach Heather Olmstead was joined by outside hitters Suli Davis and Claire Little Chambers in a postgame press conference. Their thoughts at the conclusion of the season are below:
BYU Head Coach Heather Olmstead
Opening Statement
“I want to congratulate Cal Poly on advancing. They played a great match. Super proud of our group and super proud of the fight that we had. We're just grateful to be here. USC was a great host. We're grateful to be part of the NCAA tournament, and we've had a great season. We've battled through a lot of adversity and played a really great Big 12 conference season. It’s not how we wanted to end our season, but super grateful for these girls, these players, and the way that they battled and stuck together through a lot of highs and lows.”
On the team's offense:
“I think we started to get our rhythm after the first set offensively. Suli (Davis), Claire (Little-Chambers) and BK (Brielle Kemavor) were taking big rips. Sophia (Callahan) took some big rips too. We were doing everything we could. Our passing wasn't perfect the whole night, but we got better as the match went on. Offensively, we couldn't quite keep up with Cal Poly, and I thought they were pretty scrappy on defense so it was a hard time getting kills. The kills that we did get, we're pretty good. We just had a few too many errors.”
On Claire Little Chambers' toughness battling through injury
“Suli’s got her own stuff going on too, and they've just battled through so much this year. I'm so proud of every single player on this team that's fought through adversity and injury. Claire, she really wanted to play. I had to trust her. You never want to do anything that's not okay. But she asked to go in and wanted to play for the team. She's been amazing for the group all year. So that's who we were going to go with. Both Claire and Suli have been phenomenal as well. Alex has set a great offense all year, BK and Sophia. We've had every different lineup we could think of, and everyone stepped up at different times, but Claire wanted it. And so that's what we went with.”
Outside Hitter Suli Davis
On what she learned in her first year and from teammates
“I think on the court, one of my biggest takeaways is the testimony of flat five and high line. I think having all those shots comes very handy once you learn them quickly. If you have that feel you're able to be very successful with them.”
On libero Lulu Uluave
“We're so grateful for Lulu. That's my girl, right there, my sister. But yeah, she's just an inspiration to all of us. When something happens she's just my inspiration, her inspiration. She brings so much to the team. Her game tonight was not surprising, she's giving it her all, just like always, because that's just our Lulu.”
Outside Hitter Claire Little Chambers
On setter Alex Bower’s performance:
“Alex just always shows up. She's always ready. She practices just like she plays. So, just having a setter that, especially if not on a good passing night, that can put the ball up and we can just put it away is a phenomenal thing that we have. We're very grateful for Alex and everything that she does in that case. She's an amazing player. She has a lot of fight. It's just her personality, it's who she is.”
On libero Lulu Uluave
“It's not a position that gets a lot of hype, but we certainly love our Lulu. There's a difference she makes on the court. When she's willing to throw her body everywhere to get those balls up, it inspires you. On and off the court she's a great leader. She's been working a lot on different parts of her game. She's also battling adversity as well as the whole team. So to see her come out and want it so bad, like she did, that's nothing new for her. That's just how she is all the time. We love Lulu, and we're so proud of her for that, and what she gave to our team she could, and we're grateful for that.”
