Cal Poly Eliminates Long Beach State In Big West Championship Semifinals 3-1

Friday, November 28

Long Beach, Calif.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

22-9,14-4Big West

(2) Cal Poly

24-7,14-4Big West

Long Beach St.

Cal Poly

Cal Poly Eliminates Long Beach State In Big West Championship Semifinals 3-1

11/28/2025 10:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Senior Elise Agi finished with 17 kills on .500 hitting for Long Beach State.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

LONG BEACH, Calif. – One pivotal stretch went against Long Beach State in a very tight third set, and Cal Poly capitalized on that momentum to hold on for a 25-22, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17 win over the Beach to win a semifinal matchup between the teams in the Big West Championship semifinals.

Long Beach State (22-9) was led by senior Elise Agi, who finished with 17 kills on .5000 hitting in her final match, while Logan King added 13 kills and senior Rhiann Sheffie finished with 11 for the Beach. Cal Poly (24-7) was led by Chloe Leluge who finished with 17 kills along with Kendall Beshear, who had three service aces along with 10 kills

Cal Poly got off to a quick start with a Leluge kill to take a 6-3 lead, and the Mustangs would eventually push out in front, leading 9-5. Long Beach State rallied, first with an Anna Jelinek ace and then a block from Madi Maxwell and Sheffie to pull within one at 14-13. Tying the set at 18-18, Long Beach State took a 19-18 lead on a Logan King kill, and then Kendall Beshear was in the net for a 20-18 lead. The Mustangs tied the set back up with back-to-back blocks, and pulled in front on a kill from Beshear. King answered back for two straight sideouts, but finally missed as Cal Poly took a 24-22 lead and their fifth block of the set allowed Cal Poly to take the first set 25-22.

Set two featured major momentum swings throughout. Long Beach State got off to a fast start, relying on senior Nieko Thomas for a pair of kills early on the way to a 4-0 lead. An ace from Tatum Hoff gave the Beach a 10-6 lead, and two straight blocks from Thomas and King put the Beach on top 15-7. Cal Poly responded with a big run of their own, scoring six straight to pull back into the set. The Mustangs got all the way even at 17-17 on a Leluge kill, but out of a Natalie Reagan timeout, the Beach went to Rhiann Sheffie on a slide for an important point, and Elise Agi picked up two straight kills to put the Beach on top 22-19. Sheffie then closed out the set with a kill for a 25-23 Beach win to even the match.

Both offenses kept heating up in the third with each team hitting .500 or better in the third. Sheffie had two straight kills to open up a 6-4 lead for the Beach, and Agi pushed back an overpass kill for a 10-7 lead, the largest for either team in the set. Cal Poly battled back to tie the set at 15-15, and neither team opened up a two-point lead from there until the close of the set. One of Long Beach State's two errors in the set gave the Mustangs the service edge at 23-22, and on set point at 24-23, Emme Bullis went for the dump for her first kill and the set three win.

In the fourth, Cal Poly took an early 4-2 lead, and stretched that edge to 6-2 following an Ella Scott ace and a block. Back-to-back aces from Beshear then gave the Mustangs a 13-8 lead. Cal Poly would stretch the cushion to nine points at 20-11, but Long Beach State battled back. Cutting the lead to five at 21-16 was the closest the Beach could get however, and the Mustangs closed out the set 25-17.

Long Beach State has reached at least the semifinals in all three editions since the return of the Big West Championship in 2023. The Beach finishes the season with a 22-9 overall record, recording the team's second 20-win season since 2016 and matches the fewest losses in a campaign since the 2015 season.