Cal Poly Beach Volleyball falls to No. 2 TCU in NCAA Final Four

For a second straight year, Cal Poly Beach Volleyball made a surprise push to the NCAA Championship semifinals, but fell just short of the title match on the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The No. 6 seed Mustangs lost to No. 2 seed TCU in the semifinal round 3-1, on Saturday, May 3.

The defeat ended a strong tournament run for Cal Poly, who beat No. 11 seed LSU in the opening round before upsetting No. 3 seed Stanford in the quarterfinals earlier in the day Saturday.

Their hopes of an NCAA title were dashed by the Horned Frogs, who had beaten the Mustangs in their only other matchup this season at the Center of Effort Challenge on April 12.

It was just the second final four appearance in program history, as last year’s third place run was the only other time the Mustangs had made it through quarterfinal action.

The No. 2 pair of junior Izzy Martinez and sophomore Logan Walter were the lone Mustang pairing to secure a victory, winning in three sets.

Cal Poly’s No. 1 pairing of senior Piper Ferch and sophomore Erin Inskeep went down in just two sets, looking outmatched after securing a win over the Cardinal earlier that morning. 

Not long after, No. 3 pairing of graduate student Lindsey Sparks and sophomore Quinn Perry were unable to hold off TCU’s dominant attack, falling in the third set 15-13 to secure the final.

TCU will move on to the championship round to face No. 4 seed LMU, who secured an upset win against UCLA.

The Mustangs will be looking to get back to the tournament next year with a different looking lineup, as starters Ferch, Sparks, Madi Nichols and Abbey Reinard will be graduating at the end of this year.