Tarleton State
Cal Poly Beach Volleyball Opens 2024 Season Friday With High Hopes
2/21/2024 1:52:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — After a fourth straight trip to the Big West Tournament Championship match in 2023, Cal Poly beach volleyball will begin its 2024 season this weekend. The No. 20 Mustangs are headed to Louisiana for its first tournament hosted by McNeese State in Lake Charles, La.
Cal Poly opens its season Friday against Tarleton State at 9 a.m. PT before taking on Nicholls State at 1 p.m PT.
Saturday, they face Texas A&M - Corpus Christi at 7 a.m. PT and McNeese State at 9 a.m. PT.
2024 is a special season as it marks the 10 year anniversary of the start of the beach volleyball program at Cal Poly.
Head coach Todd Rogers, who is entering his ninth season, will be joined by a new assistant coach Angela Rock, who most recently coached at Stanford for the last three seasons. She is an Olympian, ranks in the top 20 all time in career pro beach tournament wins and has also coached for St. Marys and Florida State.
This year coach Rogers is welcoming 14 new players, nine freshmen, and five transfers.
Returners this year are senior Piper Naess who was 21-19 last year, junior Piper Ferch had a record of 21-19, and Izzy Martinez who was 19-19. All of these players earned All-Big West First Team honors last season.
Another returner is redshirt sophomore Ella Connor who did not play last season. In 2022 she was named AVCA First Team All-American, Big West Freshman of the Year and earned First Team All-Big West honors.
One of the notable incoming players is graduate student Lindsay Sparks who played three seasons with the Bruins having a career record of 69-11. She was named Second Team All-Pac 12 in 2021 and helped lead her team to a national championship her freshman year.
Another notable newcomer is freshman Erin Inskeep, who was named an AVCA Junior Beach All-American as well as the 2021 AAU National Player of the Year.
Following this matchup the Mustangs will be traveling to Los Angeles March 1-2 facing No.2 UCLA on Friday at 12 p.m. and No.8 Cal at 2 p.m. Then Saturday, they will play defending national champion No.1 USC at 10 a.m. before a match with No.14 GCU at 2 p.m.
