Top-seeded Cal Poly (20-9) faced three-seed Hawaii (17-8) in the winner’s bracket semifinal on Saturday, May 1 at the Big West Tournament in Long Beach. The Beach Bows downed the Mustangs (2-3) to advance to the Championship match.
The No. 4 pairing of freshman Sam Strah and redshirt sophomore Eleonore Johansen fell in straight sets, 13-21 and 18-21.
Redshirt senior Amy Ozee and redshirt sophomore Jayelin Lombard picked up a point for Cal Poly after they swept the Beach Bows on court No. 2, 21-15 and 24-22.
The No. 5 pairing of redshirt sophomore Vanessa Roscoe and redshirt freshman Josie Ulrich won set one, 24-22, but couldn’t hold on in sets two and three, losing 13-21 and 12-15.
Redshirt senior Emily Sonny and redshirt junior Macy Gordon fell at the No. 1 court in three sets: 21-18, 18-21 and 11-15.
The No. 3 duo of redshirt juniors Mariah Whalen and Tia Miric fell in set one, 23-25, but bounced back in sets two and three, 22-20 and 15-11.
With the loss, the Mustangs dropped into the loser’s bracket semi final and faced two-seed host Long Beach State (19-13). Cal Poly defeated the Beach (4-1) to advance to the Big West Championship.
Sonny and Gordon didn’t waste any time at the No. 1 court, sweeping the Beach, 21-10 and 21-15. They improved to a team best 22-7 on the season.
At the No. 2 court, Ozee and Lombard snagged a sweep of their own, 21-16 and 21-15, to put the Mustangs up 2-0 in the match. The duo improves to 21-8 on the season and have won their last eight matches.
The No. 3 pairing of Whalen and Miric dropped set one to the Beach, 11-21, but finished strong, winning 21-17 in set two and 15-6 in set three. They are now 13-8 together and have won their last five matches.
Roscoe and Ulrich won set one at the No. 5 court, 23-21, fell in set two, 15-21, but won set three, 15-10. They are 12-10 when paired together.
The No. 4 duo of Strah and Johansen won a marathon set one, 31-29, but couldn’t hold on in sets two and three, falling 17-21 and 13-15. They drop to 10-7 when playing together.
The victory against Long Beach State sets the Mustangs up for a rematch with Hawaii for the Big West Championship. Cal Poly will need to beat the Beach Bows twice to claim the Big West title.
