Back on their home sand for the first time since the Center of Effort Challenge, Cal Poly Beach Volleyball played to their full potential on Thursday.
On day one of the Big West Beach Volleyball Championships on April 23, Cal Poly won every set they played en route to back to back 5-0 sweeps against CSU Northridge and UC Davis in pool play.
It was no surprise for the Mustangs, who came into the tournament as one of only three ranked teams in the conference and currently sit at the No. 6 rank in the NCAA.
Both matches were over quick, with Cal Poly holding the Matadors to 15 points or less in all but one set in game one. In game two later in the day it was the same story, with just one Aggie pair keeping close with Cal Poly in any set.
Cal Poly entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed in pool A, so they didn’t need to face any of their tougher Big West competition during pool play. No. 10 Long Beach State and No. 17 Hawai’i, who have historically given Cal Poly problems in the tournament, were both on the opposite side of the bracket and faced off Thursday afternoon.
In each of the past two seasons, the Mustangs have fallen to the Beach in shocking upset wins despite coming into the tournament as the favorite to win it all.
The Mustangs will square off against Hawai’i in their first round of bracket action at 12:30 at Cal Poly’s home Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex on Friday.
