Cal Poly Beach Volleyball (14-4) traveled to Palo Alto on Saturday, April 3 to battle No. 12 Stanford and No. 9 California. The Mustangs were defeated by the Cardinal, but bounced back to take down the Bears.
Stanford
In their first match of the day, Cal Poly was defeated by No. 12 Stanford (13-3) by the score 3-2. The loss snapped the Mustangs’ 10-match win streak.
Freshman Sam Strah and redshirt sophomore Eleonore Johansen were defeated at the No. 4 court, 15-21 and 19-21. The No. 2 pairing of redshirt senior Amy Ozee and redshirt sophomore Jayelin Lombard won set one, 21-18, but dropped set two, 16-21. The duo bounced back to win set three, 15-13.
For the third time this season, redshirt junior Macy Gordon and redshirt senior Emily Sonny were named the Big West pair of the week. As the No. 1 pair, they swept the Cardinal, 21-14 and 22-20. The No. 3 duo of redshirt junior Mariah Whalen and redshirt junior Tia Miric fell in straight sets, 16-21 and 19-21.
With the match tied 2-2, the deciding point came down to the No. 5 pairs. Freshman Piper Naess and redshirt sophomore Hannah Rogers fell in set one, 18-21, but won set two, 21-16. After falling behind in set three 4-9, Naess and Rogers battled back to even the score at 13-13, but ultimately fell 13-15.
All four of Cal Poly’s losses have been at the hands of nationally ranked opponents.
No. 9 California
Looking to bounce back from their loss, the Mustangs turned their attention to the No. 9 California Bears (8-4). Cal Poly defeated the Bears 3-2 to get back in the win column.
The No. 4 duo of Strah and Johansen were tied 6-6 in their first set when a Bears player was injured and could not continue. Strah and Johansen were awarded the win, securing the opening point for the Mustangs. The duo is 8-4 on the season.
At the No. 2 court, Ozee and Lombard downed the Bears in set one, 21-17. The duo fell in set two, 19-21, but came back in set three and dominated, winning 15-7. Ozee and Lombard improve to 12-5 on the season and are 8-2 in their last ten matches.
Miric and Whalen secured a victory for the Mustangs after they swept the Bears at the No. 3 court, 21-19 and 21-18. With the win, the pair is now 6-3 when playing together.
The No. 1 pair of Sonny and Gordon fell in straight sets, 14-21 and 16-21. The loss drops the duo to 13-4 on the season.
The No. 5 duo of redshirt sophomore Delaney Peranich and redshirt sophomore Kalee Graff lost set one, 16-21, and came back to win set two, 22-20. However, they fell in set three to fall fall to 2-1 when playing together this season.
With the win against California, the Mustangs improved to 6-4 against ranked opponents this season.
Cal Poly will travel to Manoa on April 9-11 to battle the No. 16 Hawaii Beachbows.