Big West Conference

So some returning blood and some new blood.

So really excited about what we're going to be doing with this team and looking to win a Big West championship.

Talking about the conference, I mean, the conference has grown.

I think the level of competition in the Big West has grown, I think, quite a bit in the last couple of years.

How would you describe how tough the Big West is or will continue to be going forward? And I say that reminding myself I almost said Mountain West, and I realize Mountain West doesn't have beach volleyball.

So in the Big West being there still, how good is that for you and how good the program and the conference is?

Yeah, it's been a great program ever since I've been involved.

At first it was really – just us and Long Beach kind of competing for championships in the early days of the beach volleyball programs.

And then he went to UC Irvine and he played there the last two years.

And last year, first team, all Big West.

Big West Defensive Player of the Year.

And a guy who is making the jump, as you mentioned, from the Big West to the ACC playing for NC State, which is going to be an interesting one.

But just watching him, he's 6'10".

I don't know what his measurables are in terms of wingspan and stuff, but it looks pretty good.

And, you know, he taught Jason and I everything we know about volleyball, about coaching, about practice planning, about recruiting.

So how lucky am I to have, you know, another big West coach of the year who's won multiple championships at my, at my disposal and our working relationship is so cool.

And I'm sure there's a ton of people that are like, that would never work.

And I'm like, It works perfectly.

Can we spend the majority of... our brain power and our care, like in what's going on in those moments.

And then for our team, which I thought we got really good at, like, how can we respond to that point when loss my mistake, teammate mistake, um, in a really, really just critical and good way.

Um, so for me, like I tell the story, Chloe Lelouge was the MVP of the big West tournament for us.

And in that weekend alone, um, she like left her shoes, like in her hotel room or on the bus.

And with St. Mary's also taking a potential step back and, and relying on some, you know, international transfers that aren't their homegrown Australian bloodline pipeline, I, I think we could get a surprise winner in this league, and I don't know if it's Pepperdine like I mentioned, if it's Dave Smart at Pacific after his run of dominance in the Canadian Basketball League.

I, I'm just excited to see it, and it will be good competition for the, my, my beloved Big West, uh, late-night hoops watching.

Well, I, I'm just pumped because I think, you know, whoever wins this league is probably not gonna win it by a lot unless there's a ton of close game luck or unless there is just a team that's way better in this league that we're somehow missing.

But I, I don't think either of us feel that way.

My second number...

Well, what direction do I wanna go? All right, we'll go with, it's my baby of my conference, so the...

I'm gonna push you to the Big West, but my number for it is 13, and that is times in the last 14 years, so 13 out of 14, that UC Irvine has ranked top 20 in two-point percentage defense.

The only time they didn't, they were 36th in that category and still a top 60 defense nationally.

And we have a big conference preview for you today.

The reason I say that is because it's the Big Sky, the Big West, and the Big South.

Frank, welcome into this big conference preview.

Yeah, I'm excited.

Yeah, it certainly is.

So is the Tritons from UC San Diego, which is a great segue into our third and final conference for this episode.

And we jump ship back across the country once again, over to the Big West.

Frank, you teased it right off the top, some conference realignment, and this is where we get it.

But Davis got their revenge.

after the Mustangs beat them in the final of the Big West Championship last season.

I was actually there for that at Long Beach State.

It was very hype on the court for Cal Poly.

I'd argue that she's as important to Cal Poly women's soccer as Nikki McCune was to Cal Poly men's soccer.

She's such an important cornerstone of that team's defense.

I don't think that they would have gone on their big West run last year without Perupski.

You saw how she played against Santa Barbara in the championship.