
Photo by: Kyle Calzia / Cal Poly Athletics
No. 13 Mustangs Host Top Teams for Third Annual Center of Effort Challenge
4/13/2022 1:34:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – On a two-match winning streak, the 13th ranked Cal Poly beach volleyball team will host four of the top six teams for the third annual Center of Effort Beach Volleyball Challenge at Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex on Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16.
At the 2021 Center of Effort Challenge, the Mustangs went 1-3, defeating No. 8 Grand Canyon. Additionally, the Mustangs fell short to No. 3 UCLA and No. 6 LMU 2-3. The No. 1 Trojans defeated Cal Poly 5-0.
The Mustangs are seeking their first wins against USC, FSU, and UCLA. They are 8-2 in home matches in their first two events this season.
No. 1 USC (23-1), the defending national champions, are on a 22-match winning streak. They went 4-0 last weekend at the Pac-12 North Invitational defeating No. 9 Stanford, No. 12 Cal, No. 17 Arizona, and Oregon.
The last time No. 4 Florida State and the No. 13 Mustangs faced off earlier this season, the Seminoles prevailed 5-0. No. 4 Florida State is 24-5 overall this season. The Seminoles went 5-0 this past weekend at their home Unconquered Invitational against Texas A&M, No. 5 LSU, No. 2 TCU, No. 15 Florida International, and No. 19 Stetson.
No. 3 UCLA (25-2) is 15-0 at neutral sites this season and on a five-match winning streak. The Bruins defeated No. 12 Cal, Arizona State, University of Oregon, and University of Washington also at the Pac-12 North Invitational. The first time Cal Poly and UCLA met on March 6 in Los Angeles, the Bruins won 4-1.
No. 13 Cal Poly is 3-6 overall against LMU. This will be the second time facing the the Lions (22-4) at Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex this season. On March 11, LMU beat the Mustangs 3-2. Last weekend the Lions defeated No. 7 Grand Canyon University 3-2 on Saturday and 4-1 on Sunday. LMU lost to No. 8 Hawaii 2-3 on Saturday then came back to defeat the SandBows 3-2.
So far this season, Cal Poly's top three pairs have a combined record of 64-21. The No. 1 pair of redshirt senior Tia Miric and freshman Ella Connor are leading the team in wins this season with a record of 19-8. They are 7-3 over their last 10 matches and have collected wins over opponents from six ranked teams.
The No. 2 pairing of redshirt junior Jayelin Lombard and freshman Piper Ferch are 18-10. They are 8-2 over their last 10 matches. At the No. 3 spot graduate student Addison Hermstad and freshman Peyton Dueck are 17-3. They are 6-2 against pairs from ranked teams.
Following this weekend's event, the Mustangs will play their final matches of the regular season on Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23 against Arizona, Boise State, Salt Lake Community College, and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Last weekend the Mustangs went 3-1 defeating Santa Clara 5-0, Saint Mary's 5-0, and UC Davis 4-1. Cal Poly lost to No. 8 Stanford 1-4.
This weekend No. 13 Cal Poly (17-11) will host No. 1 USC, No. 4 Florida State, No. 3 UCLA, and No. 6 LMU.
On Friday, the Mustangs will face No. 1 USC at 3:30 p.m. and No. 4 Florida State at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, the Mustangs will take on No. 3 UCLA at 1:45 p.m. and No. 6 LMU at 4:15 p.m.
There will be five total matches played each day. A full schedule of each day's matches can be found below.?Live stats will be available for each match. Those links can be found on GoPoly.com. For the Cal Poly matches, fans can follow the Cal Poly beach volleyball twitter account (@calpolybeach) for live updates throughout each match.
The Center of Effort Beach Volleyball Challenge is an annual event, attracting top collegiate volleyball programs to San Luis Obispo and becoming a premier in-season tournament in collegiate beach volleyball. Center of Effort's vintners, Bill and Cheryl Swanson, are supporters of the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex and have been instrumental in the vision for this weekend's event.
Friday, April 15 12:30 p.m.: No. 1 USC vs. No. 6 LMU 2:00 p.m.: No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 4 Florida State 3:30 p.m.: No. 13 Cal Poly vs. No. 1 USC 5:00 p.m.: No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 5 LMU 6:30 p.m.: No. 13 Cal Poly vs. No. 4 Florida State Saturday, April 16 12:30 p.m.: No. 6 LMU vs. No. 4 Florida 1:45 p.m.: No. 13 Cal Poly vs. No. 3 UCLA ?3:00 p.m.: No. 1 USC vs. No. 4 Florida State 4:15 p.m.: No. 13 Cal Poly vs. No. 6 LMU 5:30 p.m.: No. 1 USC vs. No. 3 UCLA

Friday, April 15 12:30 p.m.: No. 1 USC vs. No. 6 LMU 2:00 p.m.: No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 4 Florida State 3:30 p.m.: No. 13 Cal Poly vs. No. 1 USC 5:00 p.m.: No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 5 LMU 6:30 p.m.: No. 13 Cal Poly vs. No. 4 Florida State Saturday, April 16 12:30 p.m.: No. 6 LMU vs. No. 4 Florida 1:45 p.m.: No. 13 Cal Poly vs. No. 3 UCLA ?3:00 p.m.: No. 1 USC vs. No. 4 Florida State 4:15 p.m.: No. 13 Cal Poly vs. No. 6 LMU 5:30 p.m.: No. 1 USC vs. No. 3 UCLA
Friday, April 15
Players Mentioned
Cal Poly vs. Cal State Fullerton, Women's Soccer Highlights -- Oct 12th, 2025
Sunday, October 12
Cal Poly vs. UC San Diego, Men's Soccer Highlights -- Oct 11th, 2025
Sunday, October 12
Cal Poly vs. UC Santa Barbara, Volleyball Highlights -- Oct 7th, 2025
Wednesday, October 08
Mustangs Fights Childhood Cancer - Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Video with Cal Poly Volleyball
Monday, October 06