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Photo by: Mpu Dinani
April Ross and Alix Klineman Claim AVP Hawai’i Invitational Crowns
September 18, 2018 | Women's Beach Volleyball, Features
USC All-American April Ross won her fourth AVP event of the 2018 season and the 33rd of her career
HONOLULU – USC women's volleyball All-American and two-time Olympic medalist April Ross partnered with Alix Klineman (Stanford) to claim the 2018 AVP (American Volleyball Professionals) Hawai'i Invitational championship sponsored by the Hawai'i Tourism Authority (HTA) at Fort DeRussy in Waikiki on Sunday, Sept. 16.
The win is the fourth this season for Ross-Klineman. The duo also won the AVP's Austin Open to kick off the American pro beach season and was crowned champion of the Manhattan Beach Open in mid-August and the Chicago Gold Series in early September.
For Ross as an individual, the Hawai'i title is her 33rd-career victory. Her win represents the 52nd individual Trojan AVP women's victory and marks the 39th event won by at least one female USC athlete. Between Ross, and beach All-Americans Sara Hughes, and Kelly Claes, at least one USC player has won 17 of the last 30 AVP events since the 2015 season. In 2018 alone, Ross and Ross with their respective partners accounted for six of the eight AVP championships to be won.
Ross, Ross, and Claes each advanced to the Hawai'i semifinals. Current senior Terese Cannon was also part of the exclusive eight-pair field and was teamed with Sarah Sponcil (UCLA).
Seeded third, Ross-Klineman defeated Claes and Brittany Hocehvar (Long Beach State) in the first round, 21-17, 16-21, 16-14. The duo also met for the Manhattan Beach championship several weeks ago. Ross and Klineman then took down Hughes and Summer Ross (Pepperdine) in straight sets, 21-15, 21-12, to advance to the winner's semifinal.
In the semifinal round, Ross-Klineman had a rematch with Claes and Hochevar, who had battled their way back through the contender's bracket. There, they took a 21-17, 21-16 win to nab one of two spots in the title match. In another rematch, Ross and Klineman went the distance to defeat second-seeded Hughes-Ross in three sets, 18-21, 21-19, 15-10.
Hughes and Ross earned a win over Azusa Futami and Akiko Hasegawa of Japan, 21-14, 21-12, in the first round. After falling to Ross and Klineman, Hughes-Ross took down Australians Mariafe Artacho and Taliqua Clancy in straight sets, 21-18, 21-14, to return to the winner's bracket. It took three sets, but Hughes and Ross brought down the top-seeded duo of Agatha and Duda of Brazil, 23-25, 21-17, 15-12, for their spot in the title match.
Claes and Hochevar also beat Futami and Hasegawa; in their first contender's bracket match, 21-11, 21-8. They then knocked off Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan, 20-22, 21-17, 15-13, to get back to the winner's bracket. Cannon and Sponcil pushed Agatha and Duda to the limit in their opening match, but fell, 22-20, 23-21. Artacho and Clancy ended Cannon and Sponcil's run in Waikiki with a 21-14, 25-23 win in the contender's bracket.
Last spring, the Women of Troy (27-14) finished as the runner-up at the Pac-12 Championship and were chosen as one of two at-large selections into the 2018 NCAA Championship. The Trojans advanced to the Saturday final at the championship and finished in fourth place. Seventh-year head coach Anna Collier collected her 170th victory this season. Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina were named AVCA All-Americans and were chosen as the Volleyball Magazine National Pair of the Year.
For more information on the three-time national champion USC beach volleyball team and a complete schedule, please visit USCTrojans.com and follow @USCBeach on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
The win is the fourth this season for Ross-Klineman. The duo also won the AVP's Austin Open to kick off the American pro beach season and was crowned champion of the Manhattan Beach Open in mid-August and the Chicago Gold Series in early September.
For Ross as an individual, the Hawai'i title is her 33rd-career victory. Her win represents the 52nd individual Trojan AVP women's victory and marks the 39th event won by at least one female USC athlete. Between Ross, and beach All-Americans Sara Hughes, and Kelly Claes, at least one USC player has won 17 of the last 30 AVP events since the 2015 season. In 2018 alone, Ross and Ross with their respective partners accounted for six of the eight AVP championships to be won.
Ross, Ross, and Claes each advanced to the Hawai'i semifinals. Current senior Terese Cannon was also part of the exclusive eight-pair field and was teamed with Sarah Sponcil (UCLA).
Seeded third, Ross-Klineman defeated Claes and Brittany Hocehvar (Long Beach State) in the first round, 21-17, 16-21, 16-14. The duo also met for the Manhattan Beach championship several weeks ago. Ross and Klineman then took down Hughes and Summer Ross (Pepperdine) in straight sets, 21-15, 21-12, to advance to the winner's semifinal.
In the semifinal round, Ross-Klineman had a rematch with Claes and Hochevar, who had battled their way back through the contender's bracket. There, they took a 21-17, 21-16 win to nab one of two spots in the title match. In another rematch, Ross and Klineman went the distance to defeat second-seeded Hughes-Ross in three sets, 18-21, 21-19, 15-10.
Hughes and Ross earned a win over Azusa Futami and Akiko Hasegawa of Japan, 21-14, 21-12, in the first round. After falling to Ross and Klineman, Hughes-Ross took down Australians Mariafe Artacho and Taliqua Clancy in straight sets, 21-18, 21-14, to return to the winner's bracket. It took three sets, but Hughes and Ross brought down the top-seeded duo of Agatha and Duda of Brazil, 23-25, 21-17, 15-12, for their spot in the title match.
Claes and Hochevar also beat Futami and Hasegawa; in their first contender's bracket match, 21-11, 21-8. They then knocked off Canadians Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah Pavan, 20-22, 21-17, 15-13, to get back to the winner's bracket. Cannon and Sponcil pushed Agatha and Duda to the limit in their opening match, but fell, 22-20, 23-21. Artacho and Clancy ended Cannon and Sponcil's run in Waikiki with a 21-14, 25-23 win in the contender's bracket.
Last spring, the Women of Troy (27-14) finished as the runner-up at the Pac-12 Championship and were chosen as one of two at-large selections into the 2018 NCAA Championship. The Trojans advanced to the Saturday final at the championship and finished in fourth place. Seventh-year head coach Anna Collier collected her 170th victory this season. Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina were named AVCA All-Americans and were chosen as the Volleyball Magazine National Pair of the Year.
For more information on the three-time national champion USC beach volleyball team and a complete schedule, please visit USCTrojans.com and follow @USCBeach on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
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