No. 13 Cal Poly beach volleyball won three of their four matchups to close out the season at the University of Utah Invitational on Friday, Apr. 22 and Saturday, Apr. 23.
The Mustangs (19-16) defeated No. 17 Arizona (18-9), Salt Lake Community College (1-2) and Utah (9-17), but fell to Boise State (20-9). The matchup with Salt Lake Community College was an exhibition, so it does not contribute to Cal Poly’s record.
Friday vs. No. 17 Arizona
Cal Poly took down No. 17 Arizona 3-2 to kick off the weekend.
The Mustangs earned their third straight win over Arizona, and Cal Poly has beaten the Wildcats twice this season.
Arizona jumped out to the early lead, as the Wildcats won at the No. 2 spot. However, Mariah Whalen and Piper Naess evened it up for the Mustangs with a win at the No. 4 court. This match went three sets with the scores of 21-12, 23-25 and 15-12.
Freshman Ella Connor and redshirt senior Tia Miric took the sweep at the No.1 court to give Cal Poly their first lead of the day at 2-1. The match scores were 21-11 and 21-17. The top pair is now 21-11 on the season.
The No. 5 pairing of redshirt juniors Delaney Peranich and Kalee Graff clinched the win for the Mustangs in comeback fashion. After dropping the first set 12-21, Peranich and Graff came roaring back with wins of 21-16 and 15-13 to secure the victory.
Saturday vs. Boise State
After weather conditions pushed back the matchup that was supposed to take place on Friday, the Mustangs took on Boise State in their first matchup Friday.
The Broncos handed Cal Poly their only loss of the weekend, as the Mustangs fell 4-1. This was Cal Poly’s first loss to an unranked opponent since the opening weekend of the season when they lost to the University of Tampa.
Boise State clinched the win early in the matchup after collecting wins at the No. 4, 2, and 3 spots.
The lone victory for the Mustangs came at the No. 1 spot, where Connor and Miric swept their opponents 21-16, 23-21.
Saturday vs. Salt Lake Community College
Cal Poly took on Salt Lake Community College for their second game of the day and came away with a 5-0 victory.
Because this was an exhibition and did not count for their official record, the Mustangs rolled out a different lineup than usual.
The first finish came from the No. 2 pairing featuring sophomore Julia Soeller and redshirt junior Vanessa Roscoe. They took care of business in a quick fashion, winning in two sets by a score of 21-12, 21-7.
The second Mustang point came on court four, when sophomore Rachel Rahtz and redshirt sophomore Susie Lloyd completed their game in two sets, winning 21-14, 21-14.
Peranich and Naess competed on court three and made quick work of their opponent, winning by a score of 21-8, 21-6.
The No. 1 duo in this match was redshirt junior Erika Foreman and freshman Piper Ferch. The pair also completed their match in two sets, picking up the victory by a score of 21-9, 21-15.
Rahtz and Lloyd also played as the No. 5 duo and were able to pick up a second victory 21-18, 21-15 to complete the sweep for the Mustangs.
Saturday vs. Utah
The Mustangs made it back-to-back sweeps to end the weekend as they took down the University of Utah 5-0 on Sunday as well.
The lineup for this matchup was adjusted from the lineup utilized against SLCC earlier in the day.
In the No. 2 spot, Ferch was back with her regular partner redshirt junior Jayelin Lombard. The duo collected the first point for Cal Poly after winning in two sets 21-12, 21-15.
Naess was paired with redshirt junior Eleonore Johansen in the No. 4 spot. After a close first set, the Mustang duo collected the win in two sets 21-19, 21-15.
The typical Mustang No. 1 duo – featuring Miric and Connor – was back on the court for this matchup. They won the clinching point for Cal Poly in two sets 21-9, 21-13.
At the No. 3 pairing, graduate Addison Hermstad and Whalen won their matchup 21-17, 21-9.
Roscoe and Foreman also made sure to take care of business as the No. 5 duo, winning 21-12, 21-15 to complete the sweep.
The Mustangs will host the Big West Conference Tournament on Friday, Apr. 29 and Saturday, Apr. 30 at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex.