Cal Poly Drops Two Close Matches at First Day of Best in the West Tournament

Saturday, March 4

Laguna Beach, CA

10 A.M.

Hawai'i

Jayelin Lombard vs. San Jose State 3-11-22

Photo by: Kyle Calzia / Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly Drops Two Close Matches at First Day of Best in the West Tournament

3/4/2023 4:44:00 PM | Beach Volleyball

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. – Playing a pair of familiar ranked Big West foes, the Cal Poly beach volleyball team lost a pair of tightly contested matches Saturday at the first day of the Best in the Big West tournament down in Laguna Beach. The Mustangs fell to No. 9 Hawai'i and No. 14 Long Beach State, both by scores of 3-2. Both of Cal Poly's No. 1 and No. 2 pairs went 2-0 Saturday despite both being paired together for the first time. At the No. 1 spot, it was sophomore Piper Ferch and freshman Izzy Martinez. At the No. 2 spot was senior Jayelin Lombard and junior Piper Naess. In the first match of the day against the No. 9 Rainbow Wahine, Hawai'i picked up the first point of the dual at the No. 4 spot. Lombard and Naess tied the dual up after getting a three-set win at the No. 2 spot which included coming back from down 11-7 in the third set to win it 15-13. Hawai'i then went on to win at the No. 3 and No. 5 spots to clinch the win before Ferch and Martinez won their match at the No. 1 spot in three sets, 19-21, 21-10, 15-12. Immediately after playing the Rainbow Wahine, the Mustangs were right back on the sand to take on No. 14 Long Beach State in what proved to be an even tighter match. Long Beach State scored the first point of the dual at the No. 4 spot before Ferch and Lombard got Cal Poly on the board with a 14-21, 23-21, 17-15 win at the No. 2 spot. After The Beach won at the No. 3 spot to take a 2-1 lead in the dual, Ferch and Martinez evened things up after an impressive 21-17, 21-14 victory at the No. 1 spot. It all came down to the No. 5 pairs of Cal Poly senior Kalee Graff and graduate student Brooke Golik against Long Beach State's Natalie Glenn and Maggie Walters. Graff and Golik took the first set 21-19 before Glenn and Walters won the second set 21-16. It was a back-and-forth third set that the Long Beach State came out just ahead, 15-13. The Mustangs will be back on the sand in Laguna Beach Sunday to take on Long Beach and Hawai'i again. They will meet the Beach at 10 a.m. and the Rainbow Wahine at 12:30 p.m.