Losing to Cal Poly on Sunday is not the end of the season, Hawaii beach volleyball coach Jeff Hall said, but it might affect how the postseason goes. The No. 7 Mustangs’ 3-2 victory over the No. 6 Rainbow Wahine in the Big West Challenge finale could mean Cal Poly will be the top seed at the April 26-27 Big West tournament at Zuma Beach, Calif.

“This makes the Big West tournament even more important,” Hall said, referring to the tournament’s automatic NCAA bid. “It’s a neutral site. I like our chances.”

The Challenge was played at Pismo Beach, the home sands of the Mustangs. Cal Poly also had a schedule advantage, playing just twice on Sunday while the SandBows had three duals, including facing No. 9 Long Beach State in the first match at 9 a.m. Pacific.

Hall said the schedule inequity was his decision. He didn’t want to spend an extra competition day on Friday and asked to play three matches both Saturday and Sunday.

“We will have to evaluate that as teams get better and better,” Hall said. “We had been rolling through.

“I don’t think that affected today. We were ready. (Cal Poly) played really well.”

Hawaii didn’t drop a point in its first five duals, including 5-0 victories Sunday over the rival 49ers and Sac State. The day also saw the No. 3 pair of Morgan Martin and Pani Napoleon break the school record for consecutive sets won against the Hornets, the mark of 28 straight set last season by Ari Homayun and Amy Ozee.

Martin-Napoleon won all three of their matches Sunday to extend the record to 32 and improve to 16-0.

“It’s a team sport, but it’s always nice for the individual achievement,” Hall said. “We found some magic with that pair.”

After surprising losses by their top two pairs — Emily Maglio-Ozee and Julia Scoles-Homayun — Hawaii tied the dual with Cal Poly with wins by Martin-Napoleon and Kylin Loker-Hi‘ilawe Huddleston at No. 4, the latter going three sets.

It came down to No. 5, where Paige Dreeuws-Sofia Russo had three match points in Set 2 against Sam Manley-Delaney Peranich but couldn’t hold on, falling 16-21, 28-26, 15-12. It was the first win by Cal Poly in eight meetings with Hawaii.

In the match against the 49ers, Hawaii saw former Wahine indoor player Kendra Koelsch across the net at No. 4. Koelsch, who is pursing her master’s degree in kinesiology, and Kenzie Holtz lost to Loker-Huddleston, 21-15, 21-9.

The SandBows have the week off and next host Loyola Marymount, San Jose State, and Washington in the Queen’s Cup, April 13-14, at Queen’s Beach.