California Baptist University
#20 Utah
VB Preview: CBU Concludes Non-Conference Action this Week at SLO Classic
9/16/2025 1:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
RIVERSIDE--- The California Baptist University volleyball team will conclude its non-conference schedule this week as it heads north to San Luis Obispo to compete in the SLO Classic hosted by Cal Poly.
The Lancers enter the tournament 4-5 overall after going 2-1 at The Joust this past weekend. CBU defeated both Cal State Fullerton and New Mexico in the tournament and lost to Portland State in five sets to round out the three-day tournament at Van Dyne Gym.
This week, the Lancers will have some stiff competition as they will open up the SLO Classic against #20 Utah on Thursday afternoon. The BIG 12 squad has played three ranked opponents already this season and still boasts a solid record of 6-2. The Utes have gone up against #1 Nebraska, #10 Texas A&M, and #24 Dayton in the early going of the season, including defeating the #24 Dayton Flyers at the Utah Classic in Salt Lake City. Against the rest of their schedule thus far, the Utes have only dropped one set and have swept Utah State, Washington State, and Drake. This will mark back-to-back seasons in which the Lancers have faced a ranked BIG 12 opponent after squaring off against #17 Arizona State at the Lipscomb Invitational in 2024.
The second match of the tournament will also be a new one for the Lancers as they will face Saint Mary's for the first time in program history. The West Coast Conference squad is 1-7 to begin the new season, but its challenging non-conference slate is a likely cause of the struggles. The Gaels have faced three Power 4 teams thus far and played another team that received votes in the national poll. The Gaels only win came in their season opener against North Dakota at the NDSU/UND Tournament in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
The final match of the tournament will be against the host school, the Cal Poly Mustangs, on Saturday evening. The Mustangs are coming off a 2024 Big West Regular Season Title and have begun 2025 with a 6-3 record. The Mustangs have likewise built themselves a challenging non-conference slate, and they have shown thus far to be up to the task. Cal Poly has taken sets off #11 Minnesota and RV Oklahoma while picking up sweeps over Cal and Arkansas. This will be the final of three matchups against future Big West opponents for the Lancers after splitting the first two, with a loss to CSUN and a win over Cal State Fullerton.
Trevor Johnson's squad has started to gel as the non-conference schedule progresses and is the winner of three of its last four games. The return of Eliana Posada has been a much-needed jolt to the Lancer attack as the graduate right side hitter has 29 kills in seven sets of action since making her return. Posada had a career-best 18 kills in the win over New Mexico last Saturday and was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts.
MATCHUP INFO:
CBU vs #20 Utah:
DATE/TIME: Sept. 18 @1:30PM
LOCATION: San Luis Obispo, CA
CBU vs Saint Mary's:
DATE/TIME: Sept. 19 @1:30PM
LOCATION: San Luis Obispo, CA
CBU vs Cal Poly:
DATE/TIME: Sept. 20 @4PM
LOCATION: San Luis Obispo, CA
WATCH: ESPN+
