No. 3 USC Beach Volleyball Hits Manhattan Beach Pier for East Meets West

LOS ANGELES – The No. 3-ranked USC beach volleyball team (13-1) takes on four ranked foes in the East Meets West Invitational hosted by UCLA this weekend (March 31-April 1) at the Manhattan Beach Pier. The Women of Troy have won three in a row since having a 46-dual win streak broken by No. 1-ranked TCU in Miami. The Trojans are 16-1 on MB sand and have won 10 in a row at the MB Pier.

THIS WEEK
Manhattan Beach Pier • Manhattan Beach, Calif.
EAST MEETS WEST INVITATIONAL

MATCH #15 • Friday, March 31 • 9:30 a.m. PT
No. 3 USC (13-1) vs. No. 5 LSU (17-5)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 5-2 (.714)
STREAK: Won 2 • LAST 10: 5-2
LAST MEETING: W 4-1 (April 2, 2022 • Manhattan Beach)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: LSUSports.net

MATCH #16 • Friday, March 31 • 3:30 p.m. PT
No. 3 USC (13-1) vs. No. 4 Florida State (21-2)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 18-5 (.783)
STREAK: Won 5 • LAST 10: 9-1
LAST MEETING: W 3-1 (May 8, 2022 • Gulf Shores, Ala.)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: Seminoles.com

MATCH #17 • Saturday, April 1 • 11 a.m. PT
No. 3 USC (13-1) vs. No. 11 Georgia State (13-7)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 4-0 (1.000)
STREAK: Won 4 • LAST 10: 4-0
LAST MEETING: W 4-1 (March 12, 2019 • Atlanta, Ga.)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GeorgiaStateSports.com

MATCH #18 • Saturday, April 1 • 3 p.m. PT
No. 3 USC (13-3) vs. No. 16 Florida International (9-9)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 9-0 (1.000)
STREAK: Won 9 • LAST 10: 9-0
LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (Mar. 31, 2023 • Miami Beach, Fla.)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: FIUSports.com

BARE E-SAND-SHELLS • TL;DR

USC is the back-to-back defending NCAA champion and owns five national titles including the first NCAA crown in 2016 (AVCA '15, NCAA '17, '21, '22).
USC has also won four Pac-12 championships (2016, '17, '19, '22).
USC is 86-11 (.887) under fourth-year head coach Dain Blanton.
The Trojans are ranked No. 3 in the AVCA (No. 2 in the CBVB poll). It is the 94th time (of 94) USC is ranked by the AVCA; its 93rd time in the top 5. The Trojans have also been ranked No. 1 a record 41 times.
The Trojans are 16-1 all-time in Manhattan Beach and have won 10 in a row since March 2018. Their only loss was to LSU that year.
Each of USC's opponents this week are ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The Trojans are 10-1 against ranked foes this season; 174-45 all-time.
Twin seniors Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse rank third among pairs in school history with 73 total wins. The sisters have played 86 matches together, which also ranks third in program history.
Juniors Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple were chosen as the Pac-12 Pair of the Week (March 6); the 27th time a USC pair has won the league's weekly award.
USC has celebrated 14 AVCA All-Americans (28 certificates). Two-time All-American Megan Kraft returns to the lineup for her junior season this spring.
Five USC freshman have seen action in dual matches: Delaney Karl, Bailey Showalter, Mabyn Thomas, Gabby Walker, and Madison White.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trojans spent spring break on Miami Beach for the Surf & Turf Invitational hosted by Florida International and came home with a 3-1 record despite employing several retooled lineups due to the absence of All-American Megan Kraft who was in Mexico for a pair of FIVB events. USC had its 46-dual win streak snapped by TCU in a 4-1 loss but regained its footing for 3-2 wins over Florida Atlantic and Florida International before capping the weekend with a 5-0 sweep of North Florida. Twin seniors Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse improved to 73-13 with three victories in Florida. Madison Shields and Madison White also went 3-1 while splitting time at the top two spots with the twin sisters. All-time, the Trojans moved to 19-2 in duals played in the Sunshine State.

THE CHAMP IS HERE: USC is the back-to-back defending NCAA champion ('21, '22). The Trojans captured the program's fourth NCAA title and fifth national crown in 2022. USC won the final AVCA championship in 2015 and owns the first two NCAA titles (2016, '17). The Women of Troy have also claimed four Pac-12 championships (2016, '17, '19, '22).

IN THE LONG RUN: The Trojans' 46-dual win streak (March 5, 2022-March 12, 2023) was the program's second-longest string of victories and marked the eighth time that USC put together a double-digit win streak. The school record is 62 consecutive wins, which also spanned two seasons from March 11, 2016, to April 27, 2017.

POLL POSITION: USC opened the 2023 season ranked fourth in the AVCA Coaches Top 20 preseason poll. The Women of Troy have been ranked in every AVCA poll for a total of 94 weeks. USC has also been ranked in the top five of the poll 93 times. The Trojans held that top-five distinction for 63 consecutive weeks from its inception until March 2, 2020. USC first seized the No. 1 ranking in both the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine polls on March 23, 2015, following a victory over then No. 1-ranked Hawai'i on the road and held the ranking for the rest of 2015. USC has been ranked No. 1 in 41 AVCA polls, the most all-time. The Trojans, Pepperdine, Hawai'i, UCLA, LSU, Florida State, and TCU are the only seven teams ever to hold the top spot in the poll. USC is 134-14 all-time when ranked No. 1.

Players Mentioned

Delaney Karl

Megan Kraft

Delaynie Maple

Audrey Nourse

Nicole Nourse

Bailey Showalter

Mabyn Thomas

Gabby Walker

Madison White