Aside from the dominance of the visiting team, Cal Poly’s inaugural home sand volleyball weekend was about as good as any fan could ask for. By Owen Main

When Cal Poly announced almost two years ago they would start a sand volleyball program and play at the beach, I was excited to see what it would look like.

While they didn’t have any home matches in their inaugural season, the Mustangs hosted their first against the University of Arizona this weekend.

While the Lady Wildcats dominated most of the weekend, Pismo Beach was also a big winner. Amidst a heat wave on the Central Coast, Cal Poly achieved a real beach volleyball atmosphere. Fans set-up folding beach chairs and the smell of sunscreen wafted through the air.

While the two main courts included just Cal Poly vs. U of A matches, it’s clear there is a decent beach volleyball culture around Pismo. At least five other courts were never empty and one always had to have their head on a swivel to watch for flying balls.

Cal Poly’s release on the weekend can be found here. I also thought it was pretty awesome, and a great excuse to go to the beach for a few hours. Next time the Mustangs host a home matchup, I definitely recommend going down to check it out.

Photos by Owen Main

Sand Volleyball seems like it will be fun to watch. By Matthew Brown aka Morven via Wikimedia Commons

Earlier this month, Cal Poly Athletics announced that it will be adding sand (beach) volleyball as an NCAA sport, with competitions happening in the Spring. At an alumni function over the weekend, Cal Poly Athletic Director Don Oberhelman said that the Mustang team will be the only team to actually compete at the beach. Pismo Beach has existing volleyball nets/courts and there or Avila would seem to make the most sense for Mustang home matches.

The addition of sand volleyball (the NCAA will probably eventually change the name to “Beach Volleyball”) will allow volleyball players to compete during both the fall and spring seasons.

Sand volleyball has some similarities to a few other sports in its structure. Like doubles tennis, there will be five pairs of players from each school who will compete in 3-set matches to 21, 21, and 15 respectively. Players getting to compete in both the fall and spring is similar to the track, indoor track, and cross country seasons, when runners can compete nearly year-round.

Schools in California are definitely the target markets for this new sport. Here’s a Long Beach Gazette YouTube video of highlights from a Long Beach State-USC matchup this past season.

If you want to learn more about the sport and other NCAA programs, collegesand.org seems like a good website.

Long Beach State, a Big West stalwart, seems to also have a good squad.