GULF SHORES, Ala. - The No. 5 seed Cal Poly Mustangs are heading into the quarterfinal round of the 2024 National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship from Gulf Shores, Ala.
Cal Poly has now reached the 30-win plateau on the season with more games to play, running their record to 30-6 after defeating No. 12 seed Arizona State in the first round of the Championship bracket. The Mustangs now hold the 5-0 record over the Sundevils in the all-time series.
Next, the Mustangs will face No. 4 seed Florida State the second round at 8 a.m., and the winner advances to the 11 a.m. semifinal match to play the winner of No. 1 USC and No. 8 LMU. Both matches will air on ESPN2.
Cal Poly won the first sets on Courts 1, 2 and 3 to gain the early advantage, needing extra points at the threes before the tandem of Quinn Perry and Lindsey Sparks closed it out 22-20.
All-American pair Piper Ferch and Erin Inskeep got the Mustangs on the board first, dominating the second set 21-10 to claim the dual point in the second spot in the lineup in straight set.
Meanwhile, Logan Walter and Piper Naess rebounded in a big way on Court 4, taking the second set, 21-9, to force a third. Then, Cal Poly got their second dual point of the day on Court No. 1 as Big West Pairs Team of the Year Ella Connor and Izzy Martinez downed Ava Williamson and Danilla Kensinger, 21-18, 21-19, in a tight battle. Kensinger’s strike on set point went long to inch the Mustangs closer to the win.
Perry and Sparks closed it out on Court 3 with a Perry stuff at the net to win the clinching dual point, and send the Mustangs into the quarterfinal round. This marks the program’s second-ever victory in the Championship with their previous win coming in 2021’s consolation round.
The next Big West side to line up on the sand was No. 9 seed and The Big West champion Hawai’i, facing off against eighth-seeded LMU, one of Cal Poly’s potential semifinal round opponents.
Meeting up with each other for the second time this season after opening the year against year other, LMU raced out to the early lead, winning the first sets on four of five courts. The bright spot for the Rainbow Wahine came at the 2s, where Kaylee Glagau and Pani Napoleon won their first set 21-17 and quickly closed out opponents Isabelle Reffel and Alicia Stevens with a 21-13 win in the second to give UH the first dual point in the match.
However, the Lions were too stout to overcome, racking up points on Courts 3, 5 and 1 to halt the match 3-1 in favor of the WCC champions. Hawai’i closes the 2024 campaign at 24-12, all the more impressive considering the 0-5 start to the season.
Finally, the second at-large selection for The Big West opened up their national postseason as No. 10 seed Long Beach State battled No. 7 seed California. The Beach versus Bears matchup mirrored the opening round draw for LBSU in 2023, which finished 3-2 in favor of Cal. In the 2024 edition, the Beach fell by a final score of 3-1, to cap the season at 28-10 and back-to-back Championship appearances.
California won the first set on three courts with LBSU taking the first frame on Courts 1 and 3. In the top flight, an ace by Taylor Hagenah closed out the first set 24-22 in favor of the Beach. However, Cal was able to get on the board first in the dual, winning at No. 5 and then quickly adding a second dual point at No. 2.
The Beach were able to rally back on Court 4 with Megan Widener and Christine Deroos’ aggressive playing able to force a third set after a big 21-13 win in the second. Then, Haganah set up partner Malia Gementera for the final strike to put the Beach on the board from the 1s to keep the match alive.
Needing just one more point to finish the match for the Bears, Portia Sherman and Jenna Colligan were able to pull out the 15-10 third-set win over Widener and Deroos to send Cal into the quarterfinals for consecutive seasons.