No. 11 Cal Poly Beach Volleyball won three out of four of their matchups during their first home tournament of the season on Friday, Mar. 11 and Saturday, Mar. 12.
The Mustangs (5-7) took down San Jose State (2-9), Washington (3-3) and Arizona State (7-5, 2-0 Pac-12), but they fell to No. 6 LMU (12-1).
Friday versus San Jose
Cal Poly opened up the tournament with a 3-2 win over San Jose State in front of over 1,000 fans, according to Cal Poly Athletics.
The first win of the match came from the No. 3 pairing of freshman Peyton Dueck and graduate Addison Hermstad, as they took care of their matchup in two sets, 21-12, 21-10.
At the No.1 spot, redshirt senior Tia Miric and freshman Ella Connor extended the Mustang lead to 2-0 after victories of 21-12 and 21-13.
San Jose responded with a win at the No. 5 spot, making the overall match score 2-1.
The match was then clinched by Cal Poly at the No.2 spot, where redshirt junior Jayelin Lombard and freshman Piper Ferch won their first matchup 21-18 and dominated their second matchup 21-8.
After the win, Ferch highlighted how the team can continue this success.
“We need to keep our head in the game,” Ferch said. “We need to start off strong and stay consistent.”
Friday versus No. 6 LMU
The Mustangs fell short against the only ranked opponent they faced during the weekend when they lost to LMU 3-2 in Friday’s second game.
In the first game to finish, LMU’s No. 2 duo took down Ferch and Lombard 21-18, 21-15.
The Lions then increased their lead to 2-0 after their No. 4 pairing beat redshirt junior Vanessa Roscoe and redshirt sophomore Josie Ulrich of the Mustangs. Macy Gordon, a former Cal Poly player, is now playing for LMU and was a part of their No. 4 pairing.
The overall victory was secured by the Lions when they grabbed their third win at the No. 5 spot over redshirt juniors Eleonore Johansen and Kalee Graff.
The No. 3 and No. 1 pairings of Cal Poly gave the Mustangs two points in a pair of three-set victories to bring the final score to 3-2.
Saturday versus Washington:
Cal Poly struck early and often in the first match in their 4-1 win over the Huskies.
The Mustangs got the first point of the day when Dueck and Hermstad took down their opponents 21-11, 21-16 in the No. 3 spot.
The next finish came from the No. 4 spot, where Roscoe and Ulrich took care of their opponents rather quickly, winning by a score of 21-8, 21-18.
At the No. 1 spot, Connor and Miric collected the next point and secured the dual for Cal Poly. Both sets were very close, as the Mustangs came out on top 21-18, 21-19.
In the No. 2 spot, Ferch and Lombard added another point to the Mustang total after they won their match in three sets 11-21, 21-12, 15-13.
The Mustangs were not able to complete the sweep in this matchup, however, as the No. 5 pairing of Graff and Johansen came up just a little short in their match, falling 23-25, 21-19, 9-15.
Saturday versus Arizona State
The Mustangs were not done with their strong day, as they capped off the weekend with a sweep over Arizona State.
The Cal Poly lineup finished their matchups in the same order as they did against Washington.
First up was Dueck and Hermstad in the No. 3 spot, who made quick work of their match 21-14, 21-15.
Ulrich and Roscoe once again played in the No. 4 spot, although this time their victory didn’t come as quickly. Nevertheless, they were able to close out their opponents 21-15, 21-18.
In the No. 1 spot, Connor and Miric secured the clinching point for the Mustangs once again. It was not easy, though, as they finished their match in three sets in comeback fashion. After falling 15-21 in the first set, the top Mustang pairing roared back with 21-15 and 15-10 wins to clinch the win.
Lombard and Ferch also had a three-set match where they came out on top. After winning the first set by three points at 21-18, they dropped the second set 16-21. However, in the tiebreaking set, they were able to come out on top 15-11.
The only change in the lineup between the two matchups came in the No. 5 spot. Johansen once again took to the sand, however this time she was paired up with sophomore Sam Strah.
The two had an opportunity to complete the sweep, and they took advantage. After a commanding 21-13 win in the first set, the second set was the most eventful of the weekend. In that set, the Mustangs were unable to secure the victory in a 29-31 loss, as the pairs were going back and forth for the entirety of the matchup. Johansen and Strah finished the job in the third set when they won 15-9 to complete the sweep.
Cal Poly will next face off against Southern Mississippi, Houston Baptist University, Pepperdine and Boise State on Sunday, Mar. 20 and Monday, Mar. 21 at Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex.
