(6) Pepperdine
No. 8 Mustangs Win Twice in Center of Effort Beach Volleyball Challenge
2/29/2020 12:00:00 AM | Beach Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The Cal Poly beach volleyball team christened its new digs in style on Saturday, winning both of its matches over top-10 opponents while playing its first-ever matches at the brand new Mustang Beach Volleyball Complex as the Mustangs hosted the inaugural Center of Effort Beach Volleyball Challenge.
In front of hundreds of fans and supporters, the No. 8 Mustangs (4-2) took down No. 6 Pepperdine 3-2 before beating No. 9 Loyola Marymount, also by a score of 3-2, to win the Center of Effort Beach Volleyball Challenge. The Lions finished the event 1-1 while the Waves went 0-2.
Prior to the start of its opening match, the 2019 Cal Poly beach volleyball team, which won the program's first Big West championship and reached its first NCAA Tournament, was honored and each player from last year's team received her Big West championship ring.
Thank you to everyone who came out for the inaugural Center of Effort Beach Volleyball Challenge! See you on March 21 at our next match! #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/cdVlnmmtMQ
— Cal Poly Beach Volleyball (@calpolybeach) March 1, 2020
In its first match against No. 6 Pepperdine, the Waves got on the board first after a straight-sets win at the No. 4 spot. Cal Poly's No. 2 pairing of juniors Tia Miric and Mariah Whalen evened up the score a short time later after a 22-20, 21-17 victory.
The Mustangs took the lead after senior Adlee Van Winden and freshman Josie Ulrich won their match in straight sets at the No. 5 position, 21-19, 21-10. Pepperdine then tied the score 2-2 after a win at the No. 1 spot to force it to come down to a deciding match at the No. 3 pairing.
After dropping the first set, senior Emily Sonny and sophomore Jayelin Lombard took the second set 21-16 to force a decisive third set. Behind a raucous crowd, the two went on to win the third set 15-8 to clinch the match victory for Cal Poly and win the first match played at Mustang Beach Volleyball Complex.
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Right after beating Pepperdine, the Mustangs took on a No. 9 Loyola Marymount team that had also come off beating the No. 6 Waves.
The match started with a straight-sets win by Miric and Whalen at the No. 2 position, 21-13, 21-17, to put Cal Poly on the board first. So far this season, Miric and Whalen are 5-1 as a pair.
The Lions responded with their own straight-sets win at the No. 4 spot to tie the score 1-1.
From the No. 3 spot, Sonny and Lombard regained the lead for the Mustangs after a 21-13, 22-20 victory. They are also now 5-1 together this season.
LMU's No. 1 pairing then won its match in straight sets to tie the score at 2-2 and force it to come down to the No. 5 pairs.
In that match, Adlee Van Winden and Ulrich lost the first set 19-21 before coming back to win the second 21-16 and in similar fashion to the Pepperdine match, force a deciding third set. With all eyes on them, Van Winden and Ulrich took the set 15-11 to clinch the dual victory for Cal Poly. Van Winden and Ulrich also brought their record together this season to an even 3-3.
The Center of Effort Beach Volleyball Challenge will be an annual event, attracting top collegiate volleyball programs to San Luis Obispo and becoming a premier in-season tournament in collegiate volleyball. Center of Effort's vintners, Bill and Cheryl Swanson, are supporters of the new Mustang Beach Volleyball Complex and have been instrumental in the vision for the event.
The two wins are the Mustangs' second and third over a ranked opponent already this season.
MUSTANGS WIN!!! Cal Poly's No. 3 pairing of Adlee and Josie win it in three sets to give the Mustangs the 3-2 dual victory over No. 9 LMU! #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/lGc7E5NnYg
— Cal Poly Beach Volleyball (@calpolybeach) March 1, 2020
There will be two more home events at Mustang Beach Volleyball Complex this season, with the next one coming on Saturday, March 21. There will also be one event at the old home location of Pismo Beach.
However, next up for Cal Poly is a trip to Phoenix next weekend for four matches. There, the Mustangs will face Grand Canyon and Houston Baptist on Friday and San Diego City College, which will not count toward Cal Poly's overall record, and Abilene Christian on Saturday.
Photos courtesy of Nathan Nybakke
