Three California State Polytechnic University beach volleyball players were selected to play on the U.S. Collegiate Beach National Team on Monday.
Redshirt sophomore Ella Conner, sophomore Izzy Martinez and junior Piper Furch, who were key contributors to Cal Poly’s run to the Final Four this season, are part of the 16-girl team in the National Team Development Program.
For Connor, this is his second time competing with the U.S. Collegiate National Team, where he will also compete in 2022. Both Furch and Connor were also selected for the 2022 Beach U20 National Team, which won gold medals at the NORCECA U23 Continental Tour.
“It was awesome when we played,” says Furch, “everyone has a different perspective, but we’re all still playing on the beach, so it’s great that we can all find a way to play together and in a different way.”
On June 18-19, the girls will compete in the Beach Senior National Team NORCECA Trials to qualify for upcoming NORCECA competitions.
For Martinez, this will be her first selection to the U.S. National Team, as both she and Connor were named First Team All-Americans this season.
The pair qualified to compete as a pair after placing second in the 2024 Beach Collegiate Championships qualifiers last month.
“They have a really good girls team, great coaching and they do a lot of intense practice and repetition so it’s always really good,” Martinez said.
Following the training period, two more pairs will be selected from the U.S. team to compete in the 2024 World University Beach Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in September, Connor said.
