SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The HCU beach volleyball team is heading west this weekend for the Cal Poly Mustang Roundup on Saturday and Sunday at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex before sticking around until Monday to play Boise State and San Jose State in a pair of Southland Conference matchups.
The Huskies (5-5) dropped a pair of duals last Friday, Mar. 7, at the UAB March to May. The host Blazers earned a 5-0 win over the Huskies with HCU then falling to UT Martin, 4-1, later in the day. HCU's No. 1 pair of sophomores
Kristin Gilmour and
Rachel Heilbrun picked up the team's point in the loss to UTM.
On Saturday, Mar. 15, the Huskies open the day against UC Davis (5-3) at 5:15 p.m. CT before taking on Santa Clara (5-7) at 7:15 p.m. CT. Sunday, Mar. 16, pits HCU against a pair of ranked opponents with No. 14 Grand Canyon (8-4) up first, at 1:30 p.m. CT, before taking on sixth-ranked Cal Poly (6-2) at 6:30 p.m. CT. On Monday, Mar. 17, HCU and San Jose State (2-8) will stay in San Luis Obispo while Boise State (3-6) will make the trip up from Long Beach, Calif. where they are competing in the Long Beach State Classic over the weekend for SLC duals. HCU will face Boise State at 1:00 p.m. CT before taking on the Spartans at 3:00 p.m. CT.
UC Davis split four duals last weekend, earning wins over Pacific and San Jose State while falling to Cal and St. Mary's. Alexandra Leal and Kate O'Steen own a perfect 5-0 record as a pair this season playing on court 3.
Saturday's other opponent, Santa Clara, earned a win over Concordia – Irivine while falling to Utah twice and also losing at CSU Northridge. The duo of Sadie Snipes and Sammy Wood leads the team with six wins, including a 4-2 record playing at the twos.
Grand Canyon is coming off a 1-3 weekend that included three losses to top-10 opponents and a win over Oregon. The Lopes fell to top-ranked UCLA, 5-0, but lost 3-2 to both No. 3 USC and No. 9 Cal. GCU had a win over No. 20 Stetson in February.
The Mustangs have two ranked wins already this year, defeating No. 8 Long Beach State and No. 10 Arizona State while dropping a pair of 4-1 decisions to No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Loyola Marymount. Cal Poly went 4-0 last weekend with wins over ASU, Arizona, Coastal Carolina and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter boast a 7-1 record on court 2 while No. 1 pair of Piper Ferch and Erin Inskeep have a 6-2 record.
Boise State went 0-4 last weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, falling to four ranked opponents including No. 4 TCU, No. 12 Florida Atlantic, No. 13 Texas and No. 7 Florida State. The Broncos' top two pairs are each 5-4 on the season on courts 1 and 2 while Lily Patock and Elli Wolthuis own a 4-2 record playing on court 5.
Last weekend, San Jose State split a pair of duals in Sacramento, Calif. The Spartans defeated Pacific, 5-0, before falling at Sacramento State, 3-2. SJSU's No. 1 pair of Sabrina Moore and Kiara Edwards won both of their matches in straight sets.
After this California trip, the Huskies will head to Thibodaux, La. for the Southland Mid-Season Tournament hosted by Nicholls from Friday, Mar. 21, through Sunday, Mar. 23. HCU will take on Nicholls, Southeastern, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, New Orleans, McNeese and Stephen F. Austin over the course of the three days.
