Cal Poly Beach Volleyball swept the competition against all four opponents at their first tournament of the season hosted by McNeese State in Lake Charles, La. on Friday, Feb. 23 and Saturday, Feb. 24.
On Friday, the Mustangs (4-0) swept both Tarleton State (1-3) and Nicholls State (1-3) in each individual two-set match. Cal Poly carried their winning streak into Saturday, defeating Texas A&M – Corpus Christi (3-1) and McNeese State (1-3).
Friday vs. Tarleton State
Cal Poly made their debut with four freshmen and four new pairings to start their weekend with a 2-0 victory.
After missing all last season from an injury, redshirt sophomore Ella Connor returned to the sand courts at the No. 1 spot. Accompanying her at this spot was sophomore Izzy Martinez.
The new duo kicked things off for the Mustangs in a reigning style, beating Tarleton State’s No.1 pairing 21-9 in the first set and 21-12 in the second set.
The four new freshmen, Erin Inskeep, Quinn Perry, Sydney Terrel and Katie Clevenger made their debut in the following spots for this match.
The Mustangs proved their formidability against their first rival, claiming victory in each set.
Friday vs. Nicholls State
A few hours after defeating Tarleton State, the Mustangs returned to challenge Nicholls State. Cal Poly kept their momentum and swept the courts.
The top three spots remained the same for the new match and continued their winning streak.
The No. 4 spot had been claimed by another new duo; third-year transfers Madison Nichols and Abbey Reinard. They kept the Mustang’s momentum with a score of 21-11, 21-17.
Sophomore Emma Zuffelato and Terrel moved from the No. 4 spot to the No. 5 spot and rounded out the undefeated day with a 21-13, 21-6 win.
Saturday vs. Texas A&M – Corpus Christi
Cal Poly opened up its second day of competition at the McNeese sand courts with a 4-1 win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The No.1-4 spots remained the same as the previous match against Nicholls State on Friday, but Cal Poly introduced a new duo for the last team.
Two more debuts were made for the Mustangs as grad transfer Lindsey Sparks and freshman Logan Walter made their way onto the court at the No. 5 spot. Sparks was a national champion and All-Pac-12 honoree at UCLA.
Sparks and Walter earned their first wins as Mustangs in a 21-16, 21-16 takedown against the Islanders.
Throughout the entire tournament, only one duo had lost a set. The No. 3 pairing endured a tough three-set thriller, but senior Piper Naess and Perry prevailed in a 21-13, 14-21, 15-11 win.
Saturday vs. McNeese State
The Mustangs dominated their last match of the tournament against the hosting school, McNeese State, in a 5-0 sweep.
Connor and Martinez kicked things off in a 21-10, 21-13 win. The duo accumulated an impressive 21 kills and would finish their weekend with an overall 4-0 score.
The No. 2 spot also obtained a final 4-0 score as Ferch and Inskeep coasted through a 21-9, 21-7 straight-set win.
The following spots claimed victory in each of their sets, allowing a total score of 3-0 for both Nichols and Reinard at the No. 4 spot and Terrell and Zuffelato at the No. 5 spot.
After the successful weekend, the Mustangs will now have to turn their attention to next weekend, when they are scheduled to battle against a few of their toughest opponents.
Cal Poly will face No. 2 UCLA at 12 p.m. and No. 8 Cal at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 1. Then the Mustangs will take on the defending national champion No.1 USC at 10 a.m. and No. 14 Grand Canyon Univerisity at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 2.