Cal Poly Beach Volleyball collects two wins and two losses at the Battle For LA Tournament co-hosted by UCLA and USC on Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2.
After their successful season opening in Louisiana last weekend, the Mustangs moved up to No. 18 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and were looking to keep the momentum going.
Cal Poly (6-2) began their tournament in a tough fight against No. 1 UCLA (8-3) but ultimately came up short. Shortly after, the Mustangs completed a comeback to bring down No. 8 Cal (6-2.)
The second day ended similarly, as Cal Poly defeated No. 14 Grand Canyon University (4-4) but couldn’t quite get past No. 3 USC (8-2.)
Friday vs. UCLA
The Mustangs walked onto the sand courts of UCLA, looking for a battle, and UCLA was there to give them one.
Each match against the No. 1 team in the nation was full of action and power; however, only one pair clinched a win: graduate transfer Lindsey Sparks and freshman Quinn Perry.
Nevertheless, Cal Poly’s determination and strength as a team shined as three of the matches went to three sets, but couldn’t overcome the top-ranked team as they fell 4-1.
Friday vs. Cal
The Mustangs looked to rebound as they set on taking down their next challenger: No. 8 Cal Berkley.
Senior Piper Naess and freshman Logan Walter at the No. 4 spot and junior Piper Ferch and freshman Erin Inskeep at the No. 2 spot started things off right as both pairs won their matches against the Golden Bears.
The 2-0 lead by Cal Poly didn’t last long after Cal followed up with two wins of their own. It all came down to the last match.
Sparks and Perry were neck and neck against Cal, both earning their own sets and battling for the third. Perry gave it her all and secured game point with a kill, confirming their 3-2 victory against the Golden Bears.
Saturday vs. USC
Cal Poly opened the second day of the tournament with another difficult battle against the No. 3 ranked USC Trojans.
Ferch and Inskeep brought the Mustangs to a 1-0 lead in straight sets after their match, but USC quickly caught up and claimed three of their own wins.
No. 5 pairing junior Abbey Reinard and junior Madison Nichols secured one more win for Cal Poly, totaling the match 3-2.
Saturday vs. GCU
The Mustangs bounced back once again for their final match-up in the tournament as they took down No. 14 Grand Canyon University 4-1.
No. 2 pairings Ferch and Inskeep kept the momentum from their last match and gave Cal Poly an early 1-0 lead.
Following shortly after with wins were No. 4 Naess and Walter.
No. 1 redshirt sophomore Ella Connor and sophomore Izzy Martinez, and No. 3 Perry and Sparks easily secured the last two wins in straight sets.
Although the Mustangs had fallen in two match-ups during the Battle For LA, they successfully took down two higher-ranking teams and will look to keep that momentum going into next weekend.
Continuing their busy schedule, Cal Poly will travel to Long Beach, where they will face Santa Clara at 9 a.m. and Florida International University at 12 p.m. on Saturday, March 9. Then they will take on Stetson at 9 a.m. and Southern Mississippi at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 10.