SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Cal Poly set the tone with a fast start against Long Beach State and settled the tie between the two teams near the top of the standings in a 25-19, 25-18, 25-20 win for the Mustangs on the road Friday night.
Long Beach State (17-7, 10-3 Big West) was led by Logan King with 11 kills, while Elise Agi returned after a week on the sidelines by coming close to a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs. Cal Poly (20-5, 11-2 Big West) outhit the Beach .275 to .193 and had a big advantage on the service line, making nine aces on the night.
Cal Poly got off to a fast start against Long Beach State, setting the tone for the evening from Mott Athletics Center. The Mustangs opened the match on a 7-2 run, getting an ace from Emme Bullis and pushing out to a 15-6 lead. Trailing 20-11 in towards the end of the set, Long Beach State battled back, cutting the lead to 22-18 on a block from King and Rhiann Sheffie to force a Cal Poly timeout. The Mustangs were able to close out the set in a 25-19 win.
With the momentum from their comeback, the second set was much closer throughout. Tied at 10-10, the Beach found Agi for a kill, and then King put the Beach on top 13-11. Cal Poly was able to battle back and took a lead of their own at 17-15 on a kill from Chloe Leluge. Three aces down the stretch from Cal Poly helped the Mustangs close out the second set 25-18.
The Beach took an early lead again in the third, moving in front 8-6 on a Kendall Beshear service error. Cal Poly rallied with a 4-0 run, however, and pushed out to a 15-11 lead before closing out the set and the match with a 25-20 win.
The Beach continues their trip to the Central Coast with another match Saturday, taking on UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. with live coverage on ESPN+.
