Cal Poly Beach Volleyball, ranked No. 5 in the nation, reached the Final Four for the first time in program history with an overwhelming victory over No. 1 USC at the NCAA Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
California State dominated No. 12 Arizona State on Friday and defeated No. 4 Florida State on Saturday to advance to face the Trojans in the semifinals.
The No. 5 Mustangs defeated the Seminoles 3-1 with an overwhelming performance from the No. 2, No. 3, and No. 5 pair.
Cal Poly, making its first Final Four appearance in program history, had to go through USC, which was 36-5 on the season.
In this matchup against the dominant Trojans, USC defeated Cal Poly 3-0, ending the Mustangs' season.
USC earned points for first, third and fourth place.
Graduate Lindsey Sparks and freshman Quinn Perry went back and forth for the No. 3 spot, but ultimately fell short, dropping the first set 23-21 and the second 21-17.
After Courts 1 and 3, the crowd of people watching the championship live from Gulf Shores, Alabama, rushed to Sand Court 4.
After dropping the first set for the No. 4 spot, senior Piper Ness and freshman Logan Walter tried to prevent a sweep, but ultimately closed the second set in favor of the Trojans 28-26. I dropped it.
Despite the loss, the Mustangs had the best season in program history.
They were the first team in program history to reach the national championship semifinals, won the most games in program history with 31, and had the highest NCAA Tournament ranking ever achieved by a Cal Poly team. It was the highest ranking.
Junior Piper Partch and freshman Erin Inskeep also set a program record for most wins in a season by a pair (30).
This season was a big improvement from the 2023 season, when the Mustangs finished with an overall record of 15-25.
The Mustangs also earned honors with four players being named All-Americans and all five of the starting pair earning All-Conference honors.
Inskeep was named the Big West Freshman of the Year, head coach Todd Rodgers won the Big West Coach of the Year award, sophomore Izzy Martinez and redshirt sophomore Ella Conner They were named Big West Pair of the Year.
With Ness the only graduate on the roster, the Mustangs will look to improve on their historic 2024 season.
