Coming down to the final game of the regular season, the bracket for The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship is set. In its third season of having a postseason conference event, the Championship will be contested at the newly-renamed LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif., from Nov. 26-29.
Entering the day with all six seeds the final participant still to be determined in the bracket, the final day of the play was full of added intrigue from the mainland to O’ahu with the final three seeds and last team still in flux until the final point of the night was scored.
Earning a bye into the semifinal round after claiming their first Big West women’s volleyball regular-season title in outright fashion is No. 1 seed UC Davis (20-6, 16-2 BW). The Aggies capped the conference slate with just two blemishes on the record, one at No. 2 seed Cal Poly (23-6, 14-3 BW) and the other at host and No. 3 seed Long Beach State (21-8, 14-4 BW). The 16 league wins for UC Davis marks a program best in their last season as Big West members.
The Aggies will take on the winner of the No. 4 versus No. 5 matchup between UC Santa Barbara (22-8, 14-4 BW) and CSUN (17-12, 10-8 BW), which opens up the action on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Gauchos took both matches against the Matadors, including a sweeping decision at CSUN on Halloween night. UCSB is back in the bracket after a one-year hiatus, while this marks CSUN’s first appearance in The Big West postseason. While neither the Gauchos nor the Matadors were able to down UC Davis this season, both teams were able to stretch their last meeting in 2025 out to a five-setter. UCSB tussled with the Aggies just once in the unbalanced schedule, back on Oct. 23 in Davis, Calif.
Also through to the semis and set to open play on Friday, the Mustangs claim the second seed in the bracket and await the winner between third-seeded LBSU and No. 6 seed UC Irvine (13-17, 8-10 BW). Last year’s regular-season champion, Cal Poly enters the postseason just having lost to the Anteaters on Saturday afternoon, with Cal Poly and the Beach splitting their regular-season series at one match apiece to make for an intriguing side of the bracket. LBSU and UCI met twice this season in the Black-Blue Rivalry, with the Beach recording 3-0 wins in both matches. The two tussle in Wednesday’s nightcap.
No. 6 seed UC Irvine played themselves into the field after knocking off Cal Poly in their final home match to force Hawai’i into a must-win match to close the night due to the Anteaters holding the head-to-head advantage over the Rainbow Wahine. Long Beach State then recorded the 3-1 win and gave the Anteaters the final spot in the postseason.
Showcasing the overall strength of the league in 2025, this is the fourth time in the 21st century with at least four 20-win teams (2000, ’09, ’23), as the top four seeds have reached the benchmark heading into the postseason. Along with the last place in the bracket needing a tiebreaker, the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds were determined by the tiebreak, with the Mustangs’ (1.000) and Beach’ (.500) regular-season series winning percentage over UC Davis giving them the respective edge when working through the various seeding critera.
First round competition begins on Wednesday, Nov. 26, with games at 3 and 6 p.m. Following a break in the action for the Thanksgiving holiday, the semifinals are set for Friday at 3 and 6 p.m. from the Pyramid with UC Davis in the early match followed by Cal Poly’s contest. The Big West’s champion will be crowned on Saturday, Nov. 29, with first serve slated for 5 p.m. With Hawai’i winning the first two editions of the postseason event, a new champion is guaranteed to take home the title and earn the league’s automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Every game of The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Women’s Volleyball Championship will be produced by Earl Miller Productions and aired on ESPN+ with Rob Espero joined by LBSU and USC alumna Hailey Harward and Chloë Clark providing the coverage from Long Beach during Thanksgiving Week. To purchase single-day or all-session tickets to the Championship, visit BigWest.org/wvbtix.
THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS PRESENTS THE 2025 OUTRIGGER BIG WEST WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid | Long Beach, Calif.
First Round – Wednesday, Nov. 26
3 p.m. | No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 5 seed CSUN
6 p.m. | No. 3 seed Long Beach State vs. No. 6 seed UC Irvine
Semifinals – Friday, Nov. 28
3 p.m. | No. 1 seed UC Davis vs. No. 4/5 winner
6 p.m. | No. 2 seed Cal Poly vs. No. 3/6 winner
Final – Saturday, Nov. 29
5 p.m. | Championship
