The win streak keeps growing, and the No. 6 ranked Cal Poly beach volleyball team continues their dominance early in the season.
The Mustangs swept three of their four matchups this weekend. The only challenge came from No. 14-ranked Grand Canyon University (11-5), which Cal Poly (10-2, 1-0 Big West) beat 3-2.
Cal Poly also beat San Jose State 5-0 on Saturday before getting a clean sweep on Sunday against UC Davis and Houston Christian University.
Cal Poly has now beaten three ranked opponents this season, their only losses coming from the top two ranked teams in the nation. This weekend, their command manifested in the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3/4 pairings all going undefeated across the four matchups.
At No. 1, sophomore Erin Inskeep and senior Piper Ferch extended their individual winning streak to 10 matches. On top of the overall win streak, the reigning Big West Pair of the Week won each match this weekend in straight sets.
Saturday vs. Grand Canyon and San Jose State
Their closest match came against Grand Canyon, but they pulled out the 21-12, 22-20 victory to give the Mustangs a much-needed lead to start the evening’s action.
Cal Poly’s top two pairings have been lights out this season because, at No. 2, junior Izzy Martinez and sophomore Logan Walter are also on an eight-match win streak.
Also going a perfect 4-0, the pairing dropped just one set this weekend in the matchup against Grand Canyon.
Martinez and Walter beat out the Antelopes in a match that went the distance, going 21-13, 15-21, 15-12. The pairing improved to 11-1 this season after this weekend.
Another undefeated duo this weekend secured the Mustangs’ victory on Saturday night, with senior Madi Nichols and sophomore Quinn Perry also coming out of the weekend 4-0.
The pair switched between No. 3 and No. 4 this weekend, getting wins at both positions.
They fought to begin day one, dropping their first set against San Jose State 16-21. However, after that early setback, they won every other set on Saturday.
They came back to beat the Spartans 21-11, 17-15, before matching up against Grand Canyon. The pair clinched the Mustang’s victory with a 21-11, 21-15 win over the Antelopes.
Graduate Lindsey Sparks and redshirt junior Ella Connor had the longest Saturday of any Mustang pair. Both of their matches went to three sets, and their first set against Grand Canyon was decided at 30-28.
Sparks and Connor emerged 1-1 from Saturday. But with Sunday’s sweep, they rose to 3-1 in their first matches together this year.
To finish out the lineup, senior Abbey Reinard and freshman Elise Lenahan matched the No. 4 pairing’s results, going 3-1 on the weekend. Reinard and Lenahan took their first loss of the year against Grand Canyon, but they quickly bounced back.
The pair cruised to straight-set victories in each of their other matchups, improving to 7-1 this year.
Sunday vs. UC Davis and Houston Christian
Cal Poly took care of business against the UC Davis Aggies (7-5, 0-1 Big West) and Houston Christian University Huskies (5-9), winning all five of their matches and taking their third sweep of the weekend at the Swanson Beach Complex on March 16.
After the shaky start to the season, going 2-2 in their opening weekend of games, the Mustangs have since gone 8-0.
Cal Poly’s No. 1 pair of Ferch and Inskeep, the No. 2 pair of Martinez and Walter and the No. 3/4 pairing of Nichols and Perry all went undefeated against in their two matches on Sunday as well.
The Mustangs looked energized against the Huskies and Aggies, as every single pairing won in straight sets in both matches.
The team’s next set of matchups comes next weekend in the Big West Challenge, starting on Friday at 10:15 a.m. against Sacramento State.
The three-day event also features No. 9 ranked Long Beach State, who the Mustangs defeated earlier this year, and No. 18 ranked Hawai’i.
