Cal Poly Beach Volleyball ended the 2024 regular season after taking down all four of its opponents at the NOLA Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana.
After placing third in the Center of Effort Challenge and rising to No. 4 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association rankings, the Mustangs continued their strong play.
On Friday, April 19, Cal Poly defeated Southern Miss and Tulane 3-2 in each match.
Finishing off the tournament, the Mustangs gathered another set of wins from UAB and Louisiana-Monroe.
The Mustangs’ top pairings of Ella Connor and Izzy Martinez, Piper Ferch and Erin Inskeep and Piper Naess and Logan Walter won all their on Saturday.
Friday vs. Southern Miss
Cal Poly made it to the courts, ready to start the tournament and take on Southern Mississippi (14-22).
Getting things started, the No. 5 pairing of junior Abbey Reinard and junior Madi Nichols earned the first win for the Mustangs with a dominant two-set sweep of 21-4, 21-12.
The No. 3 and No. 1 pairings were next to finish their matches, taking down their opponents before they could reach 20.
Friday vs. Tulane
The next matchup for the Mustangs took place a few hours later against Tulane (22-12).
Junior Piper Ferch and freshman Erin Inskeep succeeded again at the No. 2 spot.
The next match that caught some attention was at the No. 4 court. Senior Piper Naess and freshman Logan Walter put on a show, going to three sets before finally taking a nail-biting win.
One more win from the No. 3 pairing secured Cal Poly’s second win for the day, and they would rest up for the night before taking on their next opponents.
Saturday vs. UAB
The Green Dragons held their own against the Mustangs but could only manage one win.
Cal Poly would finish their matches against UAB (18-13) with a 4-1 score.
Sunday vs Louisiana-Monroe
The Mustangs ended their tournament with a 5-0 sweep against Louisiana-Monroe (14-17).
Each pairing from Cal Poly earned wins during this matchup, including Ferch and Inskeep and Naess and Walter, who finished up 4-0 for the weekend.
Both pairings, each having a freshman, made impressive improvements throughout the season.
Naess and Walter are now 21-3, and Ferch and Inskeep are 26-4.
Now at 27-5, the Mustangs are preparing for next week’s Big West Championship, which will be held on April 25-26 in Long Beach at Long Beach City College.
As the No. 1 seed in the Big West, Cal Poly will fight for their fourth title in five years.