Friday, April 12
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
1:45 P.M.
vs
Florida State
No. 6 Mustangs Set to Host Six Top 10 Teams This Weekend for Center of Effort Beach Volleyball Challenge
4/10/2024 3:05:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif - The premiere regular season beach volleyball event in the country is even bigger than ever. This Friday and Saturday, April 13 & 14, Cal Poly will be hosting eight teams, seven that are ranked in the top 10, at Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex for the fifth annual Center of Effort Beach Volleyball Challenge.
The Mustangs (21-3) will welcome some of the best teams in the country to San Luis Obispo this weekend in No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 USC, No. 4, Florida State, No. 5 TCU, and No. 7 Long Beach, No.10 LMU, and Pepperdine. All the matches will have live stats for fans to follow. Those links can be found HERE.
The COE tournament will consist of two pools of four teams. Each team will play the three others that are in their pool and based on results, the fourth place team in pool A will play the fourth place team in pool B, third place in Pool A will be third place in Pool B, second place in Pool A will face second place in Pool B, and the championship match will pit the winners of each pool against each other.
Pool 'A' will consist of No.6 Cal Poly, No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 Florida State, and No. 10 LMU. Pool 'B' will feature No. 2 USC, No. 5 TCU, and No. 7 Long Beach State, and Pepperdine. Each team will play two matches each day.
On Friday, the Mustangs will face No. 4 Florida State at 1:45 p.m. and No. 10 LMU at 6:30 p.m. Prior to the start of the LMU match the Mustangs will honor its lone senior Piper Naess with a brief ceremony.
Piper Naess has a total of 56 career wins and earned First Team All-Big West honors last season, with 20 match wins. She collected six wins over pairs from ranked teams last season and went 4-0 in the Big West tournament her sophomore year.
Saturday, Cal Poly will wrap up pool play at 10:15 a.m. against No. 3 UCLA. They will then have one more match later that day with the time and opponent depending on the results of their first three matches and the matches in Pool 'B'.
A heads up for fans planning to attend that Cal Poly's Open House will be happening Friday and Saturday and will cause heavy traffic on campus and road closures.
No.1 UCLA is 22-4 this season and are currently on a 13 match winning streak. They have beat 18 ranked teams this year. Known as a national powerhouse with back to back championships in 2018 and 2019.
No.2 USC is 24-3 and has beat 18 ranked teams this season. The Trojans have won the last three national titles and have won five in their history.
No.4 Florida State is 25-5 this season and are currently on a five game winning streak. They have beat nine ranked teams this season. Historically the Seminoles have appeared in three national championships.
No.5 TCU is 23-5 beating nine ranked teams. TCU was 37-3 last year, making it to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament which was their programs most historic season.
No. 7 Long Beach State 20-4 and have beat six ranked teams. Long Beach won the Big West last season and has won one and lost against Cal Poly.
No.10 LMU is 21-8 and has beaten five ranked teams this season. Last season the Lions made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
Pepperdine is 15-10 this season and historically made it to the NCAA tournament finals in 2017. Cal Poly has beat Pepperdine three out of the last four matches.
This is a big weekend for the Mustangs as they get ready for their next tournament in New Orleans, The Nola Classic. There, they will be facing Southern Mississippi, Tulane, UAB, and University of Louisiana Monroe. It will be the Mustangs' last tournament before the Big West Championship.
The Mustangs (21-3) will welcome some of the best teams in the country to San Luis Obispo this weekend in No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 USC, No. 4, Florida State, No. 5 TCU, and No. 7 Long Beach, No.10 LMU, and Pepperdine. All the matches will have live stats for fans to follow. Those links can be found HERE.
The COE tournament will consist of two pools of four teams. Each team will play the three others that are in their pool and based on results, the fourth place team in pool A will play the fourth place team in pool B, third place in Pool A will be third place in Pool B, second place in Pool A will face second place in Pool B, and the championship match will pit the winners of each pool against each other.
Pool 'A' will consist of No.6 Cal Poly, No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 Florida State, and No. 10 LMU. Pool 'B' will feature No. 2 USC, No. 5 TCU, and No. 7 Long Beach State, and Pepperdine. Each team will play two matches each day.
On Friday, the Mustangs will face No. 4 Florida State at 1:45 p.m. and No. 10 LMU at 6:30 p.m. Prior to the start of the LMU match the Mustangs will honor its lone senior Piper Naess with a brief ceremony.
Piper Naess has a total of 56 career wins and earned First Team All-Big West honors last season, with 20 match wins. She collected six wins over pairs from ranked teams last season and went 4-0 in the Big West tournament her sophomore year.
Saturday, Cal Poly will wrap up pool play at 10:15 a.m. against No. 3 UCLA. They will then have one more match later that day with the time and opponent depending on the results of their first three matches and the matches in Pool 'B'.
A heads up for fans planning to attend that Cal Poly's Open House will be happening Friday and Saturday and will cause heavy traffic on campus and road closures.
No.1 UCLA is 22-4 this season and are currently on a 13 match winning streak. They have beat 18 ranked teams this year. Known as a national powerhouse with back to back championships in 2018 and 2019.
No.2 USC is 24-3 and has beat 18 ranked teams this season. The Trojans have won the last three national titles and have won five in their history.
No.4 Florida State is 25-5 this season and are currently on a five game winning streak. They have beat nine ranked teams this season. Historically the Seminoles have appeared in three national championships.
No.5 TCU is 23-5 beating nine ranked teams. TCU was 37-3 last year, making it to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament which was their programs most historic season.
No. 7 Long Beach State 20-4 and have beat six ranked teams. Long Beach won the Big West last season and has won one and lost against Cal Poly.
No.10 LMU is 21-8 and has beaten five ranked teams this season. Last season the Lions made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.
Pepperdine is 15-10 this season and historically made it to the NCAA tournament finals in 2017. Cal Poly has beat Pepperdine three out of the last four matches.
This is a big weekend for the Mustangs as they get ready for their next tournament in New Orleans, The Nola Classic. There, they will be facing Southern Mississippi, Tulane, UAB, and University of Louisiana Monroe. It will be the Mustangs' last tournament before the Big West Championship.
2024 Center of Effort Beach Volleyball Challenge
April 12-13, 2024
Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Friday, April 12
10:00 a.m.: No. 2 USC vs. Pepperdine
11:15 a.m.: No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 10 LMU
12:30 p.m.: No. 7 Long Beach State vs. No. 5 TCU
1:45 p.m.: No. 6 Cal Poly vs. No. 4 Florida State
3:00 p.m.: No. 2 USC vs. No. 7 Long Beach State
4:15 p.m.: No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 4 Florida State
5:30 p.m.: Pepperdine vs. No. 5 TCU
6:45 p.m.: No. 6 Cal Poly vs. No. 10 LMU
Saturday, April 13
9:00 a.m.: No. 2 USC vs. No. 5 TCU
10:15 a.m.: No. 6 Cal Poly vs. No. 1 UCLA
11:30 a.m.: Pepperdine vs. No. 7 Long Beach State
12:45 p.m.: No. 10 LMU vs. No. 4 Florida State
2:00 p.m.: 7th place match
3:15 p.m.: 5th place match
4:30 p.m.: 3rd place match
5:45 p.m.: 1st place match
April 12-13, 2024
Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex
San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Friday, April 12
10:00 a.m.: No. 2 USC vs. Pepperdine
11:15 a.m.: No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 10 LMU
12:30 p.m.: No. 7 Long Beach State vs. No. 5 TCU
1:45 p.m.: No. 6 Cal Poly vs. No. 4 Florida State
3:00 p.m.: No. 2 USC vs. No. 7 Long Beach State
4:15 p.m.: No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 4 Florida State
5:30 p.m.: Pepperdine vs. No. 5 TCU
6:45 p.m.: No. 6 Cal Poly vs. No. 10 LMU
Saturday, April 13
9:00 a.m.: No. 2 USC vs. No. 5 TCU
10:15 a.m.: No. 6 Cal Poly vs. No. 1 UCLA
11:30 a.m.: Pepperdine vs. No. 7 Long Beach State
12:45 p.m.: No. 10 LMU vs. No. 4 Florida State
2:00 p.m.: 7th place match
3:15 p.m.: 5th place match
4:30 p.m.: 3rd place match
5:45 p.m.: 1st place match
Players Mentioned
/ Beach Volleyball
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