Kentucky did its job.
The Wildcats rolled through Wofford in straight sets, then handled UCLA 3–1 to punch yet another ticket to the Sweet 16. Historic Memorial Coliseum gets at least one more match day, and the bracket handed Big Blue Nation a name it might not know well yet:
Cal Poly.
Don’t let the seed line or geography fool you. The Mustangs are good and playing their best volleyball at exactly the right time.
Kentucky will play in the second match of Thursday’s session, with Creighton vs Arizona set for 1 p.m. and the Cats and Cal Poly tentatively scheduled for around 3:30 p.m. If the first match runs long, that could slide a bit, but Memorial is going to be rocking all afternoon.
Kentucky volleyball vs Cal Poly Sweet 16 preview and what the Mustangs bring
So, who is Cal Poly?
Start with the schedule.
They’ve been tested from the jump, opening at Minnesota, tearing through multiple invitationals, and navigating a demanding Big West slate. Along the way they picked up:
- A road sweep at Arkansas
- Home wins over Cal, Utah, Long Beach State, Hawai’i and UC Santa Barbara
- Neutral-site and tournament wins over programs like Northern Colorado, Cal Baptist, and BYU
Then, when it mattered most, Cal Poly ripped through the Big West tournament, beating Long Beach State and UC Davis to grab the auto bid. Once they got into the NCAA bracket, they just kept swinging, knocking off No. 5 BYU and No. 4 USC in back-to-back five-set thrillers.
That’s not a fluke résumé. That’s a giant-killer’s trail.
The numbers say the same thing:
- Cal Poly is hitting .278 on the season, while holding opponents to .190.
- They’ve recorded 1,628 kills to their opponents’ 1,486.
- They own a massive blocking edge: 281.0 total blocks to opponents’ 189.0.
Individually, the Mustangs are loaded with weapons:
- Emma Fredrick leads the team in kills (411), digs (339) and also chips in with 36 aces. She’s the classic do-everything outside who can carry them in big moments.
- Kendall Beshear isn’t far behind with 369 kills and a team-high 49 aces, plus 281 digs and 60 blocks. She’s a problem from the service line and in transition.
- Annabelle Thalken (290 kills) and Chloe Leluge (283 kills, 126 blocks) give Cal Poly real balance at the net.
- Charlotte Kelly anchors the block with 127 total blocks, and setter Emme Bullis has dished out 1,184 assists while still managing 28 aces and 50 blocks of her own.
In short, they’re long, physical at the net, and relentless from the service line. They don’t just outscore you; they try their best to wear you down.
What does that mean for Kentucky?
The Wildcats will absolutely be the more athletic, more explosive side in most rotations. But this isn’t a match where they can sleepwalk through a set and expect to flip the switch.
- First-ball sideout will be huge – you can’t let a team with this many servers stack long runs.
- The block will have to be disciplined against Fredrick and Beshear in particular.
- Serving tough to push Cal Poly out of system and away from their middles will be key.
The good news for Kentucky is simple: Memorial will be loud, this team knows how to handle pressure, and they’ve already seen high-level offenses all year in the SEC.
The bad news? Cal Poly has absolutely nothing to lose and everything on film to believe they can take down another giant.
Win this, and the Cats move one step closer to making Memorial’s final volleyball chapter a storybook one. Lose, and they become just another name on Cal Poly’s growing upset list.