No. 13 Mustangs Open 2023 Season Saturday in Tallahassee Against Pair of Ranked Teams

Saturday, February 25

Tallahassee, FL

6:45 A.M.

University of South Carolina

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

No. 13 Mustangs Open 2023 Season Saturday in Tallahassee Against Pair of Ranked Teams

2/23/2023 11:26:00 AM | Beach Volleyball

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — It's been almost 300 days since Cal Poly beach volleyball last played a match but that will come to an end this weekend when the Mustangs head to Tallahassee, Fla. to open the 2023 season. The No. 13 Mustangs, who are coming off a third straight Big West title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022, are going to be put to the test in their opening weekend. Saturday, Cal Poly opens the season against No. 19 South Carolina at 6:45 a.m. PT before taking on last year's national runner-up in No. 2 Florida State at 9:15 a.m. PT. Sunday, the Mustangs will face Coastal Carolina, who was in the 'others receiving votes' category of the AVCA Preseason Poll, at 5 a.m. PT, and No. 16 Florida International University at 10 a.m. The No. 19 Gamecocks finished 20-12 last season and return three players who won 20 matches. Cal Poly is 2-0 all-time against South Carolina, winning in 2019 and 2020 both in the opening weekend of the season in Tallahassee. No. 2 Florida State is coming off a run to the national title match in 2022 and were 33-11 last year. They've added several transfers, including standout indoor and beach player Morgan Chacon, who spent the fall playing indoor volleyball at Long Beach State. The Mustangs have never beat the Seminoles with an 0-8 all-time series record. Coastal Carolina was picked to finish second in the Sun Belt Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. They return 11 players from a team that went 18-16 last year. This will be the first ever meeting between the two programs. No. 16 FIU is coming off a 22-11 season in 2022 in which they reached the championship match of the Conference USA Championships. The Panthers added a pair of Big West transfers in Alice Pratesi from Long Beach State, a First Team All-Big West selection, and Milica Vukobrat, another First Team All-Big West honoree. Cal Poly is 1-0 against FIU, with the lone meeting happening back in 2017. For the fifth straight year, the Mustangs head into the season ranked in the top 15 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. It will be a fairly new looking team for the Mustangs in 2023. Despite returning 10 players from last year's team, only eight of those players will be available to play this season. Head coach Todd Rogers, who is entering his eighth season at the helm of the program and is coming off winning his third consecutive Big West Coach of the Year award, welcomes eight newcomers to this year's team, six freshmen and two transfers. Returning this year is highlighted by last year's No. 2 pairing of senior Jayelin Lombard and sophomore Piper Ferch. Last season, they both earned First Team All-Big West honors after finishing with a 22-18 record. Lombard heads into her final season ranked fourth all-time in program history for career wins and is poised to move into the top three this season. Other returners this season include junior Piper Naess, who won 16 matches last season and senior Delaney Peranich, who won six matches last season. Among the newcomers include graduate student Brooke Golik, who spent the last four years playing on the women's soccer team at SMU. She has made the switch to beach volleyball this spring after playing it throughout her youth through high school, during which time she was an accomplished player on the sand. Following this weekend in Tallahassee, Cal Poly will head down to Laguna Beach March 4-5 to face No. 10 Hawai'i and No. 14 Long Beach State.