Cal
No. 6 Mustangs Finish COE With Pair of Splits Saturday
4/11/2026 8:18:00 PM | Beach Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Cal Poly Beach Volleyball Finished the Center of Effort Challenge Saturday by splitting its two matches to finish fourth in the event.
The No. 6 Mustangs (23-7) took down No. 9 Cal 4-1 before falling just short in the third place match against No. 1 Stanford 3-2.
To start the day, Cal Poly came up strong against No. 9 Cal, Cal Poly won three of its four matches in three sets. The No. 4 duo of Elise Lenahan and Julia Westby won their match in straight sets to start it off. That was followed by three set victories by the No. 1 pair of Ella Connor and Erin Inskeep, the No. 2 pair of Logan Walter and Izzy Martinez, and the No. 3 duo of Quinn Perry and Ashleigh Adams.
That win moved Cal Poly into the third place match of the Center of Effort Challenge against No. 1 Stanford. Against the Cardinal, Martinez and Walter won in impressive fashion at the No. 2 spot, 21-15, 21-12 to put Cal Poly up 1-0. They went a perfect 4-0 this weekend with wins over pairs from No. 13 Arizona State, No. 2 UCLA, No. 9 Cal, and No. 1 Stanford and are now 27-2 on the year.
Stanford then took a 2-1 lead following wins at the No. 3 and No. 1 spots. Both the No. 4 and No. 5 sets after each Cal Poly pair won its second set to force a third. In the third at the No. 4 spot, the Mustang duo of Lenahan and Wesby held a 14-11 lead before Stanford came back to tie it and eventually win it 17-15.
Cal Poly’s No. 5 pair of Hannah Byers and Maddy Byrne finished the match strong for the Mustangs with a 19-17 third set victory to make it 3-2.
Cal Poly will have another chance to beat the Cardinal next weekend when they head up to Palo Alto to compete in a tournament at Stanford. Friday April 17 and Saturday, April 18, they will face San Jose State, No. 1 Stanford, Pepperdine, and No. 9 Cal to close out the regular season.
