No. 5 Cal Poly Beach Volleyball was swept by No. 1 USC in their first Final Four appearance in program history at the NCAA Championships in Gulf Shores, AL.
Cal Poly Beach Volleyball dominated No. 12 Arizona State on Friday before taking down No. 4 Florida State University on Saturday to advance to take on the Trojans in the semifinals.
The No. 5 Mustangs won 3-1 with dominant performances from their No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 pairs against the Seminoles.
In their first-ever Final Four appearance in program history, Cal Poly had to go through USC, who had 36 wins on the season and just five losses.
In this matchup versus the dominant Trojans, the Mustangs’ season would end, as USC swept Cal Poly 3-0.
USC got points at the No. 1, 3, and 4 spots.
Graduate Lindsey Sparks and freshman Quinn Perry went back and forth at the No. 3 spot but in the end, they fell short, losing the first set 23-21 and the second set 21-17.
After the No. 1 and the No. 3 courts had finished, the crowds of people watching the championships live in Gulf Shores, AL rushed over to the No. 4 sand court.
After losing the first set at the No. 4 spot, senior Piper Naess and freshman Logan Walter tried to prevent being swept but ultimately fell in the second set 28-26 in favor of the Trojans.
Despite the loss, the Mustangs had their best season in program history.
They are the first team in program history to go to the semifinals of the national championship, they won the most games in program history with 31 and their ranking in the NCAA tournament was the highest a Cal Poly team has ever received.
Junior Piper Perch and freshman Erin Inskeep also set a program record for the most wins by a pair in a season with 30.
This season was a major improvement from the 2023 season where the Mustangs finished with a 15-25 overall record.
The Mustangs also racked in the accolades as four players were named All-Americans and all their five starting pairs earned All-Conference honors.
Inskeep was named Big West Freshman of the Year, head coach Todd Rogers won Big West Co-Coach of the Year and sophomore Izzy Martinez and redshirt sophomore Ella Connor won Big West pair of the year.
The Mustangs will look to improve on their historic 2024 season as Naess is the only graduating senior on the roster.