No. 4 USC Beach Readies For Five-Foe Week

LOS ANGELES – The 4th-ranked USC beach volleyball team (17-8) will meet longtime local rival No. 2 Pepperdine (18-3) for the fourth time this season and has its last shot to exact revenge and even the all-time series with the Waves on Tuesday, April 10, at Merle Norman Stadium. The match is scheduled to be shown live on Pac-12 Network and Pac-12 Los Angeles at 5 p.m. PT. Following the home dual, the Women of Troy head to the Pacific Northwest for the first time and will face host Washington (8-9), Oregon (2-4), No. 14 Stanford (13-9), and No. 13 California (17-4) on Alki Beach in Seattle, Wash., in the Pac-12 North Invitational. The Trojans are 10-11 all-time against the Waves and have lost the previous three meetings this season. USC is a combined 11-0 against Pac-12 North foes.

MATCH #26 • Tuesday, April 10 • 5 p.m. PT
No. 4 USC (17-8) vs. No. 2 Pepperdine (18-3)
Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
Series History: USC trails, 10-11 (.476) • Streak: Lost 3
Last Meeting: L, 4-1 (March 31, 2018 • Malibu, Calif.)
TV: Pac-12 N/LA (Anne Marie Anderson & Holly McPeak)
Stream: Pac-12.com/live
Opponent Web: PepperdineWaves.com

2018 PAC-12 NORTH INVITATIONAL
Alki Beach • Seattle, Wash.

MATCH #27 • Saturday, April 14 • 12 p.m. PT
No. 4 USC (17-8) at Washington (8-9)

MATCH #28 • Saturday, April 14 • 2 p.m. PT
No. 4 USC (17-8) vs. No. 14 Stanford (13-9)

MATCH #29 • Sunday, April 15 • 10 a.m. PT
No. 4 USC (17-8) vs. No. 13 California (17-4)

MATCH #30 • Sunday, April 15 • 1 p.m. PT
No. 4 USC (17-8) vs. Oregon (2-4)

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 163-26 (.862) and is the first and only collegiate head coach to reach 150 career victories.
USC is 0-3 against Pepperdine this season and 10-11 all-time. The Waves are the only team to hold a winning record over the Women of Troy.
The Trojans are 11-0 in all-time duals against the four teams they will face at the Pac-12 North Invitational in Seattle.
Only six teams have ever beaten the Trojans in a dual: Pepperdine (11), Long Beach State (5), Florida State (3), Hawai'i (3), UCLA (3), and LSU (1).

SCOUTING REPORT: No. 2 Pepperdine (18-3) has won three straight since dropping a 4-1 decision to UCLA on March 27. One of those three wins is a 4-1 victory over the Women of Troy. The Trojans and Waves previously met twice during the season's second week. Pepperdine won both by 3-2 counts; once at Merle Norman Stadium, and once at Zuma Beach. The Waves have won three straight over USC and lead the all-time series by a 11-10 count. They are the only team with a winning record against the Trojans. USC is a combined 11-0 against opponents at the Pac-12 North Invitational. It is 5-0 against California and 2-0 against Stanford, Oregon, and Washington. USC met Cal and Stanford during the Pac-12 South Invitational just three weeks ago but will face the Ducks and Huskies for the first time this season.

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 dropped a 3-2 dual to crosstown rival and newly-No. 1-ranked UCLA in their first trip to Sunset Canyon. In a two-at-a-time format, the Bruins scored points at the Nos. 4 and 5 positions and then sealed the victory with a win at the second court. USC's top duo of Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina grinded out a three-set win over the McNamara twins and the Trojans' pair of Joy Dennis and Haley Hallgren completed a three-set win against Zana Muno and Savvy Simo for the second USC point. UCLA's win was its third in the last five meetings with USC, which fell to 9-3 all-time against the Bruins.

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 two seasons, the duo has already amassed 54 victories together (54-14 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 163-26 (.862)all-time. The next closest coach is Pepperdine's Nina Matthies who reached 100 in 2017.

Players Mentioned

Joy Dennis

Haley Hallgren