No. 5 USC Beach Set to Defend Pac-12 Titles

LOS ANGELES – The 5th-ranked USC beach volleyball team (22-10) will defend its back-to-back Pac-12 championships this weekend in Stanford, Calif. The Trojans received the No. 2 seed and will face seventh-seeded Arizona State (10-18) in the first round of the 2018 Pac-12 Championship hosted by Stanford at the Stanford Sand Volleyball Stadium. The Women of Troy and the Sun Devils will meet in the tournament's second dual set for a 9:45 a.m. PT start on Thursday, April 26.

2018 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP • FIRST ROUND
MATCH #33 • Thursday, April 26 • 9:45 a.m. PT
[2] No. 5 USC (22-10) vs. [7] Arizona State (10-18)
Stanford Sand Volleyball Stadium • Stanford, Calif.
Series History: USC leads, 9-0 (1.000) • Streak: Won 9
Last Meeting: W, 4-1 (Mar. 24, 2018 • Santa Monica, Calif.)
TV: P12N (Anne Marie Anderson & Holly McPeak)
Opponent Web: TheSunDevils.com

BARE E-SAND-SHELLS

USC is the three-time defending national champion and won the first-ever NCAA title in the sport in 2016 (AVCA, 2015). The Trojans are also the two-time defending Pac-12 Champions.
7th-year head coach Anna Collier is 168-28 (.857) and is the first and only collegiate head coach to reach 150 career victories.
At the top court, Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina lead USC pairs with a 24-1 record and enter the week on a 15-match winning streak.
USC has only played at Stanford one previous time and won, 5-0, against the Cardinal in a road dual match on April 18, 2017.
Only seven teams have ever beaten the Trojans in a dual match: Pepperdine (12), Long Beach State (5), Florida State (3), Hawai'i (3), UCLA (3), California (1), and LSU (1). Of those, only Pepperdine holds a winning record (12-10).
USC has matched 24 different pairs this season and started 20 different lineups.

The Trojans are 8-1 all-time in Pac-12 championship matches and suffered their only loss in the 2017 winner's bracket final to rival UCLA. USC later defeated Washington and then got revenge on the Bruins in the title match to claim the second of back-to-back crowns.

USC has had to weather a season fit with injuries, and uncertainty, but has emerged with 22 victories despite having employed 20 different lineups and 24 different pairings. At the top court, junior Abril Bustamante and freshman Tina Graudina lead all USC pairs with a 24-1 overall record, which is among the best in the nation. The pair enters the championship on a 15-match winning streak. At the second position, senior Terese Cannon and freshman Sammy Slater are 21-4 overall and come into the week on a seven-match winning streak. Seventh-year head coach Anna Collier posted her fifth straight 20-win season and became the first and only collegiate head coach to reach 150 wins this year. She is 168-28 all-time with a .857 winning percentage.

SCOUTING REPORT: Arizona State (10-18) is 2-8 in its last 10 duals and enters the championship on a five-match losing streak. The Sun Devils took the Trojans to the brink in a home dual to open the season before USC won, 3-2. The Women of Troy later took down ASU, 4-1, in the Pac-12 South Invitational in Santa Monica, Calif. The Trojans are 9-0 all-time against Arizona State and has dropped just five individual matches in those nine victories.

TRACK THE TROJANS: Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCBeach on Twitter for score updates during home matches and select road matches. The Trojans are also active on Instagram, Facebook, Periscope, and Snapchat. Search @USCBeach and follow us today!

LAST TIME OUT: The Women of Troy earned a pair of 3-2 victories over No. 6 Long Beach State and No. 16 Grand Canyon on Senior Day to close the regular season on a three-match winning streak. The wins were also the first two at Merle Norman Stadium, where USC had gone 0-3 in three matches earlier this year. At the top court, junior Abril Bustamante and freshman Tina Graudina delivered the clinching point in both duals with straight-set victories. The duo ran their winning streak to 15 consecutive matches and improved to 24-1 on the season. The Trojans honored seniors Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer in pre-match ceremonies. Belton went 1-1 with partner freshman Maja Kaiser at the fourth position and Kremer earned a pair of wins in exhibition play. Senior Terese Cannon and freshman Sammy Slater also went 2-0 on the day with one win at the No. 3 position and another at No. 2.

SMART COOKIE: Senior Jo Kremer was named the 2018 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year this week. The two-time Pac-12 All-Academic Team choice is the second Trojan to be chosen for the Scholar-Athlete award, which is given to the top senior in each of the Pac-12's 24 championship sports. Nicolette Martin was chosen for the 2017 honor, preceding Kremer.

CLOSING TIME: Seniors Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer are 12 wins from catching USC's third all-time winningest pair of All-Americans Sophie Bukovec and Alexa Strange. Despite only being paired for parts of two seasons, the duo has amassed 54 victories together (54-16 all-time). Bukovec and Strange earned 66 wins together over a two-year span.

ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS: On Saturday, April 23, 2016, USC defeated Hawai'i, 3-0, to make head coach Anna Collier the first collegiate beach volleyball coach to reach the 100 career victories mark. She is now 168-28 (.857) all-time. The next closest coach is Pepperdine's Nina Matthies who reached 100 in 2017.

POW-WOW: USC pairs have won the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week award 13 times since its inception in 2016. Abril Bustamante and Terese Cannon claimed the first award of 2018 on Feb. 27. Bustamante was later named for the award with freshman Tina Graudina on March 27. In 2017, USC pairs claimed five of the eight awards. All-Americans Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes are owners of a record five Pac-12 POW awards. Seniors Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer became the first-ever No. 5 pair to win the honor on March 21, 2017.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jenna Belton

Sophie Bukovec

Abril Bustamante

Terese Cannon

Kelly Claes

Tina Graudina

Sara Hughes

Maja Kaiser

Jo Kremer

Nicolette Martin

Sammy Slater