Cal Poly Beach Volleyball closed out their final regular-season tournament Saturday at Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium, sweeping both California and Pepperdine 5-0 in a statement performance that reinforced the Mustangs’ momentum heading into the postseason.
The day before on April 17, the Mustangs split their two matches, beating San Jose State before narrowly falling to No. 1 ranked Stanford for the second time in as many weeks in a 3-2 match that came down to the final set.
Cal Poly just misses Stanford upset for second straight week
The Mustangs split their Friday slate at Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium, opening the weekend with a win over San Jose State before falling in a tightly contested 3-2 dual against No. 1 Stanford.
The Mustangs began the day with a morning matchup against San Jose State, where they controlled the lineup from the start. Cal Poly secured wins across multiple flights behind a mix of experienced pairings and adjusted lineup combinations. Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep anchored the top position, while Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter held down the No. 2 spot.
The afternoon dual against Stanford presented a significantly tougher test. Facing one of the top teams in the country, Cal Poly pushed the Cardinal to the limit before ultimately dropping a 3-2 decision in one of its most competitive matches of the season.
Connor and Inskeep delivered a statement win at the No. 1 flight, defeating Stanford’s top pair in straight sets, 25-23, 21-9. The duo’s ability to close a tight first set and then dominate the second underscored their consistency against elite competition.
Stanford responded with straight-set wins at the No. 2 and No. 5 flights, putting pressure on the Mustangs to find points in the middle of the lineup. The No. 3 and No. 4 matches both went to three sets and ultimately decided the dual.
At No. 4, Julia Westby and Elise Lenahan battled through a back-and-forth match, dropping the second set before regrouping to take the third, 15-13, and earn a key point for Cal Poly.
Moments later, the dual came down to the No. 3 flight, where Quinn Perry and Ashleigh Adams pushed their match to a decisive third set. After splitting the first two sets, the pair fell just short, 15-10, sealing the overall 3-2 result in favor of Stanford.
Despite the loss, Cal Poly’s performance against the Cardinal highlighted its ability to compete with the nation’s best. Two matches went the distance, and the Mustangs were within a few points of flipping the outcome, continuing a season-long trend of narrow contests against top-ranked opponents.
Mustangs sweep Saturday matches
The Mustangs opened Saturday against California and wasted no time asserting control across the lineup. At the No. 1 flight, Connor and Inskeep delivered the most competitive match of the dual, battling to a three-set win, 21-17, 18-21, 15-12, to clinch the point.
The rest of the lineup handled business in straights. Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter earned a 21-15, 21-17 victory at the No. 2 position, while Quinn Perry and Ashleigh Adams dominated 21-11, 21-11 at No. 3., while the No. 4 and No. 5 duos also took care of business to seal the win.
Cal Poly carried that momentum into its second dual against Pepperdine and produced another clean 5-0 sweep, this time with even more control from top to bottom. Perry and Adams continued their strong play with a 21-13, 21-15 victory, while Westby and Lenahan delivered one of the most decisive performances of the day, winning 21-12, 21-10.
Across both duals on Saturday, Cal Poly went a combined 10-0 in flights, with eight of those wins coming in straight sets. Even in tighter moments, such as the three-set battle at No. 1 against California and the pair of deuce sets at No. 5, Cal Poly maintained composure and executed late to secure points.
The performance at Stanford serves as a strong closing statement to the regular season and reflects the trajectory the Mustangs have built over the past several weeks.
Cal Poly has consistently competed against some of the top programs in the country, pushing highly ranked teams in multiple 3-2 decisions and demonstrating the ability to win across all five flights. That experience against elite competition appears to be translating into more complete team performances, like Saturday’s pair of sweeps.
Just as importantly, the timing of this showing adds weight. The Stanford tournament marks the final tune-up before Cal Poly returns home to host the Big West Championship, where the Mustangs will face some of their most challenging conference opponents with a conference title and NCAA Tournament implications on the line.
Programs like Long Beach State and Hawai‘i have pushed the Mustangs at times over the last few seasons, and the Mustangs will need the same level of depth and execution displayed this weekend to navigate the bracket.