Cal Poly’s campus is just a 10-minute drive from the beach, but for the Mustangs beach volleyball team, the sands they call home are much closer – at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex right at the heart of campus.
This year, Swanson has played host to another dominant season, as they finished the regular season with a 26-6 record and a No. 6 ranking in the nation.
A third-place finish at last year’s NCAA Championships set high expectations for the Mustangs, but they have delivered so far, with their sights set on getting the national title.
The first stop on their championship journey will be at the Big West Championships on April 24 and 25.
“Coming into this year after getting third, we’re planning on winning the national championship,” graduate student Lindsey Sparks said.
The 2025 season started out with a tough task for the Mustangs, who were dealt the unfortunate hand of facing No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 LMU and No. 8 Long Beach State in their opening tournament at the Battle for LA.
They finished the first weekend 2-2, and for a moment, the team with title aspirations looked unable to keep pace with their prospective challengers early in the year.
One week later, they arrived at the Sun Devil Classic in Arizona looking like a completely different team and kicking off what would eventually become the longest winning streak of any beach volleyball team in the nation.
The 18-game streak of dominance lasted over a month and included wins over eight ranked opponents.
The crown jewel of the stretch and their season as a whole was a shocking win over then No. 2 and current No. 1 ranked UCLA, the first victory over the Bruins in Cal Poly program history.
The win over UCLA and then No. 3 LMU propelled the Mustangs to a season high No. 3 ranking and was a full 180 from the pair of losses to begin the year.
A number of new pairing combinations have contributed to keeping the lines fresh and propelling the Mustangs’ sustained success from last season.
Last year’s Big West pair of the year, junior Izzy Martinez and redshirt junior Ella Connor, have found new counterparts, contributing to the Mustangs’ strength through all five pairs.
Martinez and Logan Walter led the team with a 25-7 record and a 14-match winning streak as the No. 2 pair.
Sophomore Erin Inskeep and senior Piper Ferch weren’t far behind at the No. 1 pair, going 24-6 against the best their opponents had to offer.
Connor and senior Madi Nichols finished a successful regular season with a 14-5 record, hitting their stride after multiple changes to the lineup early on.
At the Center of Effort Challenge in April, Cal Poly fans turned out in droves to the home complex, filling the walkways around the courts and even into the parking garage overlooking the sand.
“I think Cal Poly fans have definitely recognized that we’re a part of something super special,” sophomore Quinn Perry said. “Especially because of last year and our ranking currently, fans are buying in more.”
The win streak finally ended in a loss to Long Beach State on April 6, but they will carry the momentum of the season into their conference championships as the favorite and No. 1 seed.
The Big West matches will begin with No. 5 seed UC Davis at 12 p.m. and No. 4 seed CSUN at 2:30 p.m. on April 24 in Santa Monica.