SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – In conjunction with Santa Clara, the San Francisco beach volleyball program is co-hosting the second Santa Cruz Invitational on the Main Beach. Last year's tournament was the first collegiate event contested at Main Beach, long recognized as a mecca for beach volleyball on the Boardwalk.
The one-day event features four teams from the state of California, and each squad will have an opportunity to face off with one another throughout the day.
The Broncos enter the event sporting a 2-1 record, after beating Portland to open the season and taking down California on March 12, their last time on the sand. Their loss on the season came at the hands of the Dons in a 3-2 decision at Sacramento State.
Cal Poly hits the courts with a 4-6 mark after the first month of play. The Mustangs opened the year with four straight losses, but have rebounded for victories against San Jose state, Bakersfield, Concordia and Irvine Valley College. Cal Poly is coached by first year head coach Todd Rogers, a 20-year professional player and gold medalist in beach volleyball at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Â
CSUN is under the direction of prolific indoor player Jeff Stork, a three-time Olympian and gold medalist in Seoul. The Matadors currently stand at 2-9 on the year with victories over Bakersfield and Concordia.
The Dons enter the weekend with a mark of 10-1 on the season, ranked No. 13 in the latest DiG Magazine poll. Most recently, USF is coming off a 4-1 win against Stanford, its first volleyball over the Cardinal in school history, indoor or on the beach.
"I hope we will have three great three matches this weekend," said USF's
Gilad Doron. "Cal Poly has US gold medalist Todd Rogers now coaching there, and then it will be a great matchup for us to see him and see what he has done there. Northridge has Jeff Stork who is also a gold medalist with the US national team back in Seoul, and against Santa Clara last time, it went five games, down to the last match.
"Santa Cruz is a great venue, and hopefully we can continue this ride through Northern California before we finish up with two weekends in Southern California to close the season."
Watch the live stream from TheW.tv
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Match schedule:
9 a.m. –Santa Clara vs. Cal Poly
San Francisco vs. CSUN
11 a.m. –San Francisco vs. Cal Poly
Santa Clara vs. CSUN
1 p.m. –Santa Clara vs. San Francisco
Cal Poly vs. CSUN
