No. 14 Mustangs Advance Through to Championship Match of Big West Tournament

Friday, April 29

San Luis Obispo, Calif.

11:30 A.M.

CSUN

Beach Volleyball Celebration Big West Tournament

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

No. 14 Mustangs Advance Through to Championship Match of Big West Tournament

4/29/2022 10:41:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After winning all three of its matches Friday at the first day of the Big West Tournament at Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex, including over No. 9 Hawai'i and No. 11 Long Beach State, the No. 14 Cal Poly beach volleyball team is moving on to Saturday's tournament championship match. The No. 14 Mustangs (22-16), the No. 3 seed in the tournament, started their day off with a 5-0 win over No. 6 seed CSUN. They then beat No. 11 Long Beach State, the tournament's No. 2 seed, 3-2 in comeback fashion. They capped their day off with another dramatic 3-2 comeback win over No. 9 Hawai'i in the semifinals, the top seed in the tournament. Cal Poly will play in the championship match of the double-elimination tournament Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Long Beach State will play UC Davis at 9 a.m. with the winner playing Hawai'i at 10:15 a.m. Cal Poly will play the winner of that match in the championship at 11:30. If the Mustangs win, they will be crowned champions. Should they lose, they will play another match immediately after at 12:45 for a championship-deciding match. All matches Saturday will be streamed live on ESPN+. The Mustangs are seeking a Big West Championship three-peat and an automatic berth into next week's NCAA Tournament in Gulf Shores, Ala. CSUN Match Against the Matadors, all five Cal Poly pairs won in straight sets. The No. 1 duo of redshirt senior Tia Miric and freshman Ella Connor started things off with a 21-12, 21-14 win. That was followed by the No. 4 pair of redshirt senior Mariah Whalen and sophomore Piper Naess, who had only played one match together entering Friday, won 21-9, 21-15.

Addie Hermstad Big West Tournament — **Addie Hermstad goes up for a swing against CSUN**

The No. 3 pair of grad student Addison Hermstad and freshman Peyton Dueck were the pair that clinched the duel win for the Mustangs with a 21-14, 21-10 victory. The No. 2 tandem of redshirt junior Jayelin Lombard and freshman Piper Ferch followed suit shortly thereafter with a 21-16, 21-10 win. The No. 5 duo of redshirt junior Vanessa Roscoe and redshirt sophomore Josie Ulrich then finished off the sweep after a 21-17, 21-18 victory. LBSU Match The second match against Long Beach State was a dramatic one, with three of the five matches going three sets and Cal Poly having to comeback from down 2-1. It was once again Miric and Connor putting the Mustangs on the board first after a 21-13, 21-19 win at the No. 1 spot. Long Beach State tied it 1-1 after a 22-20, 21-14 win at the No. 2 spot before taking a 2-1 lead after 21-23, 21-12, 15-10 win at the No. 5 spot. With its back against the wall, Cal Poly battled to pull out two straight third set wins at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots. Hermstad and Dueck tied the duel 2-2 after winning 21-15, 14-21, 15-9 at the No. 3 position.

Jayelin Lombard Big West Tournament — **Jayelin Lombard hits against Long Beach State**

Whalen and Naess then came up huge at the No. 4 spot, pulling out a three-set comeback victory, 16-21, 21-18, 15-12 to seal the 3-2 duel win for the Mustangs. Hawai'i Match Cal Poly saved its most dramatic match for its 3-2 victory over Hawai'i. In a battle of two pairs who were both named AVCA First Team All-Americans earlier this week, Hawai'i's No. 1 pair of Brooke Van Sickle and Kaylee Glagau came out victorious 21-17, 21-16 over Miric and Connor to take a 1-0 lead. The Mustangs' No. 4 pair of Whalen and Naess evened things up at 1-1 with a 21-15, 21-17 win over Sofia Russo and Anna Maidment. The Rainbow Wahine then took a 2-1 lead after Riley Wagoner and Ilihia Huddleston beat Roscoe and Ulrich at the No. 5 spot, 18-21, 21-11, 15-12. Needing to win both remaining matches again, Dueck and Hermstad came up clutch once again at the No. 3 spot, beating Megan Widener and Sarah Penner 21-14, 19-21, 15-8 to tie the duel 2-2. It all came down to a third set at the No. 2 spot. After Hawai'i's Kylin Loker and Jamie Santer won the first set 21-13, Lombard and Ferch picked up a win in the second set 21-14 to force a third. In the third set, Lombard and Ferch faced a 12-9 deficit before rattling off a 6-1 run to complete the comeback victory and clinch the 3-2 win for Cal Poly.

Photos courtesy of Owen Main | www.fansmanship.com