In the first match of her final NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship run, graduate student Lindsey Sparks made two diving saves to keep their second set alive, setting up her partner sophomore Quinn Perry for a hit back onto LSU’s side for the winning point.

The play sealed the win for the No. 3 duo, and a 3-0 sweep for the No. 6 seed Mustangs against No. 11 seed LSU in their first round matchup in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The Mustangs bottom three pairs delivered on Friday, with each winning in just two sets to clinch the win and move the Mustangs on to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships.

All five Cal Poly pairs won their first sets, with the No. 1 and No. 2 matches being stopped early after the Mustangs secured the 3 wins needed to take the match.

Cal Poly’s No. 5 pair of freshman Elise Lenahan and senior Abby Reinard took down their opponents in dominant fashion, winning 21-10 in a blowout second set to seal their match.

Lenihan is the only member of the starting lineup who wasn’t a part of their tournament run last year.

No. 4 pair of redshirt junior Ella Connor and senior Madi Nichols also got the quick win, also by a wide margin in their second match, 21-14.

The Mustangs will move on to day two of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, May 3 to face No. 3 seeded Stanford, who won their match against Boise State on Friday.

Stanford beat Cal Poly earlier in the season, in a 4-1 win at the Center of Effort Challenge on April 11.

The Mustangs will be looking for redemption on the NCAA stage Saturday, with the match starting at 9 a.m. in Gulf Shores.

Head Coach Brittany Harry is proud of her inaugural class and is excited to get to work.

Anderson, one of three setters in the class, will bring a winning mindset as the ultimate competitor, Harry believes.

“We are so happy to add Meghan to the Saluki family. She comes from the storied Skutt Catholic program in Omaha and has spent time in the program running a 6-2 and 5-1 during her career there where they have won several 4A State Championships. She has winning in her blood and is a fierce competitor that is sure to add immediate competition into our setter position.”

Christian will join the Salukis as the second Kansas City native, and Harry is excited to use her versatile skill set.

“Emma Christian is a do-it-all kind of player. Having played for Dynasty out of Kansas City she is a high-skilled player who has a really high volleyball IQ on the court. She has spent time as a setter and defensive specialist/libero and she brings this calm competitiveness energy to the court.  We are thrilled to add Emma to our Saluki family.”

Kerr’s connection with Harry made her recruitment easier than most, and the first-year head coach is ready to get her into Davies Gym.

“It was so fun recruiting Addie to Carbondale. Addie is from Champaign, which is also my hometown and coincidentally her high school coach at St. Thomas More, Brad Dalton, was my freshman year JV coach way back at Central High School. Add the connection with both of us playing club at Illini Elite, it was an easy ‘yes’ to want Addie to come play for us at SIU. Addie will add depth to the setter position. I knew I was getting a gritty competitor with our common connections and I am so excited that she will be with us this fall in a Saluki uniform.”

Laidig has stayed true to Southern throughout her recruiting process, something that did not go unnoticed by Harry.

“Julia is a defensive specialist from Woodstock, IL who played club for VC United. From my first conversation with Julia, I knew I was getting an all-in kid who would fit the mold of the type of player we will recruit to SIU. It is fairly common for kids to reopen their recruitment when a coaching change occurs but that was not the case with Julia. Julia has stayed committed to SIU volleyball and it was great getting to know her this spring. Julia has experience playing just about every position on the court and I am excited to bring her poise and maturity to our program.”

Pena’s hitting prowess at the net makes her a natural fit for the current roster and has sky-high potential.

“Angie is one of those kids who we just clicked within the recruiting process. Angie is a utility hitter who has spent time at every position at the net. She has been trained with a lot of discipline having spent time playing club at Sports Performance and 1^st Alliance in Chicago. Along with top-notch training, she also brings a high standard of winning with her. Angie has a super high ceiling to improve and we are excited to add her arm to our gym in the fall.”

FOLLOW THE SALUKIS

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on X (@SIU_Volleyball), Instagram (@SIU_Volleyball) and Facebook (SalukiVolleyball). Fans can also download the “Salukis” Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.     

BVB5/2/2025 2:03 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Sherman, Donley Break Single Season Pair Wins Record

GULF SHORES, Ala. – The No. 10 California beach volleyball team was defeated in heartbreaking fashion by seventh-seeded Texas in the first round of the NCAA Championship on Friday in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
 
The Golden Bears’ court-one duo of junior Portia Sherman and sophomore Emma Donley picked up its 28th victory of the year to break the program’s single-season pair wins record. All 28 wins came in the top spot of the lineup for the pair that earned the AVCA Top Flight award earlier this morning, which is given to the top pairs who compete in at least 15 matches at a specific court and win at least 75% of their matches. Sherman and Donley are the first pair in Cal history to win the award in the top spot.
 
Texas (28-9) got on the board first winning handily on court three but Cal (27-10) evened the dual at 1-1 with a win a straight-set win by junior Jenna Colligan and senior Ella Dreibholz on court five. Dreibholz, the program’s all-time wins leader, ends her career with a record of 105-38.
 
Sherman and Donley put the Bears up 2-1, bringing the match down to courts two and four, which both went to a third set. Graduate student Maile Somera and Marilu Pally led on court four and held dual point, but the Longhorns battled back to win it in extras.
 
Tied at 2-2 the dual came down to court two where the team-captain pair of graduate student Sierra Caffo and junior Gia Fisher held an 8-4 lead, but once again UT battled back and tied it at 13 apiece. The Bears staved off two dual points but an ace for the Longhorns granted them their first NCAA Championship win.
 
This concludes a historic 2025 season for the Bears who broke several program records including 14 ranked wins, a 12-match win streak, 16 sweeps, and a .781 regular-season win percentage.
 
#7 Texas – 3, #10 Cal – 2
1. Emma Donley/Portia Sherman (Cal) def. Chloe Charles/Eva Liisa Kuivonen (UT) 21-17, 21-15
2. Emma Grace Robertson/Katie Hashman (UT) def. Gia Fisher/Sierra Caffo (Cal) 20-22, 21-17, 17-15
3. Karin Zolnercikova/Maddison Parmelly (UT) def. Ella Sears/Alexandria Young-Gomez (Cal) 22-20, 21-9
4. Macey Butler/Noa Sonneville (UT) def. Marilu Pally/Maile Somera (Cal) 21-18, 19-21, 17-15
5. Jenna Colligan/Ella Dreibholz (Cal) def. Ava Patton/Vivian Johnson (UT) 21-18, 21-19
Order of finish: 3, 5, 1, 4, 2
 

BIG WEST RELEASE

IRVINE, Calif. – It was announced on Friday by The Big West Conference that senior Titans women’s water polo student-athlete, Destiny Hernandez, was named to the All-Big West Honorable Mention team.

It marked the third consecutive season that the Titans earned at least one All-Conference honor.  Mia Solarzano was the Freshman of the Year and an Honorable Mention in 2023, Shyanne Rainey was a Honorable Mention in 2024, and Hernandez was the third Titan to receive that honor.

Destiny Hernandez led the Titans with 67 points for the season.  She scored 45 goals and tallied 22 assists.  She also drew 14 exclusions and recorded 25 steals and 14 field blocks. In Hernandez’s two year career with the Titans after transferring from Orange Coast College, she has tallied 121 points.  She has scored 82 goals and recorded 39 assists over her Titans career. She is the all-time career leader in points for the Titans three year women’s water polo history. 

The Titans concluded the season with an 11-21 overall record and a 0-7 record in conference play.

SUPPORT THE TITANS!

Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitansTickets.com. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan House off of Gymnasium Drive at the eastern end of the Intramural Fields and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday. 

FOLLOW THE TITANS

Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), Twitter (@FullertonTitans) Instagram (FullertonTitans) and Snapchat (FullertonTitans). In addition, the volleyball team has established its own Twitter (@Fullerton_WP) and Instagram accounts (Fullerton_WP). 

WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+

Titans fans can now watch every home event exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN quality production for all games at Titan Stadium. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN quality streams which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference game