No. 2 USC Meets Top-10 Foes For Thursday Tilts at MNS

LOS ANGELES – No. 2-ranked USC (20-4) welcomes a pair of top-10 opponents for Thursday (April 11) duals at Merle Norman Stadium and seeks to build on a four-match winning streak with only four remaining regular-season contests. The Women of Troy take on No. 9 Long Beach State (17-5) for the first and only time this regular season to start the day at 1 p.m. PT and then seek revenge for a loss at Zuma Beach when it faces No. 5 Pepperdine (16-6) at 3 p.m. Both duals will be shown live on the Pac-12 Networks.

MATCH #25 • Thursday, April 11 • 1 p.m. PT
No. 2 USC (20-4) vs. No. 9 Long Beach State (17-5)
Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 7-5 (.583) • STREAK: Won 6
LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (April 17, 2018 • MNS)
TV: Pac-12 Network/LA (Kevin Barnett & Camryn Irwin)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: LongBeachState.com

MATCH #26 • Thursday, April 11 • 3 p.m.
No. 2 USC (20-4) vs. No. 5 Pepperdine (16-6)
Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES HISTORY: USC trails, 12-13 (.480) • STREAK: Lost 1
LAST MEETING: L 3-2 (April 30, 2019 • Malibu, Calif.)
TV: Pac-12 Network/LA (Kevin Barnett & Camryn Irwin)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: PepperdineWaves.com

BARE E-SAND-SHELLS

USC owns three beach volleyball national championships including the first-ever NCAA title in 2016 (AVCA, 2015).
8th-year head coach Anna Collier is 193-36 (.885) and is the first and only collegiate head coach to reach 150 career victories.
The Trojans are 47-8 (.855) all-time at Merle Norman Stadium and are 3-1 in home duals this season.
AVCA All-Americans Abril Bustamante (Sr.) and Tina Graudina (So.) top the Trojans' lineup. The duo is 53-4 all-time together; the fifth most successful pair in program history for total victories.
Individually, Bustamante is 110-24 and Sr. Terese Cannon is 105-29 all-time. They rank sixth and eighth all-time among USC individuals for career wins.
Merle Norman Stadium will play host to the 2019 Pac-12 Championship from April 25-27. It also hosted the inaugural Pac-12 Championships in 2016.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trojans went 4-1 last week. USC dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 1 UCLA on the road and then went to the Bay Area for the Pac-12 North Invitational where it returned the favor against the Bruins and earned 5-0 sweeps over No. 12 California and Washington; and a 4-1 win over No. 19 Stanford to go 4-0.

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 and Facebook.

SCOUTING REPORT: No. 9-ranked Long Beach State (17-5) has lost only five times, but each of the last three were 5-0 sweeps at the hands of Hawai'i, Pepperdine, and Florida State. The 49ers also lost, 4-1, at Pepperdine; and 3-2 to Stetson at Merle Norman Stadium. At the top court, Megan Kruidhof and Mari Molina are 12-3 with an 18-4 overall-record. USC has won six straight against LBSU and is 7-5 all-time against the 49ers. No. 5 Pepperdine (16-6) comes into the week on a three-match winning streak, which includes a 3-2 win over the Women of Troy on Zuma Beach. The Waves' last loss was a 3-2 decision to USC in Tempe, Ariz. Pepperdine has used three different pairs at the top position, but Brook Bauer and Heidi Dyer are 8-5 at the top spot. USC is 12-13 all-time against the Waves; the only team that holds a winning record over the Trojans.

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 193-36 (.885) all-time and just seven wins from reaching the 200-win mark. Previously, the next closest coach was Pepperdine's Nina Matthies who reached 100 in 2017 and retired from coaching following the 2018 season with 137 career victories. The next nearest active coach to Collier is UCLA's Stein Metzger who started the season at 110-38 and is now 136-39 (.777).

CENTURY CITY: Seniors Abril Bustamante and Terese Cannon reached 100 career wins during a trip to the East Coast. They are the seventh and eighth players to reach that career plateau with the Trojans. Bustamante ranks sixth with 110 wins (24 losses) and Cannon ranks seventh with 105 wins (29 losses) all-time. The other six Trojans among the top eight are school-record holder Sara Hughes (190); Kelly Claes (180), Nicolette Martin (141), Allie Wheeler (130), Jenna Belton (124), and Jo Kremer (103).

PAIR'S LAIR: USC's pair of Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina has won 53 matches (53-4) and are fifth all-time among Trojan pairs. They need two more victories move into the No. 4 spot in school history behind only Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes who won 147 matches; Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler (91 wins); and Sophie Bukovec and Alexa Strange (66 wins).

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Belton

Abril Bustamante

Terese Cannon

Tina Graudina

Jo Kremer