USC Beach Volleyball Sets Sights on Fifth Pac-12 Crown This Week

STANFORD, Calif. – The defending Pac-12 Conference champion No. 3-ranked USC beach volleyball team (26-3) seeks its fifth Pac-12 crown this week as the No. 2 seed in the annual tournament. The Women of Troy get started with a winner's bracket quarterfinal dual against seventh-seeded Arizona (19-10), which they beat at Stanford's Beach Volleyball Stadium three weeks ago (April 8) in the Pac-12 North Invitational. The Trojans and Wildcats will meet at 10:15 a.m. PT on Wednesday (April 26). Should USC advance to the winner's semifinal, it will face the winner of a quarterfinal between third-seeded California (25-8) and sixth-seeded Arizona State (11-11). The Women of Troy own four of the six all-time Pac-12 championships (2016, '17, '19, '22) and were also the No. 2 seed in 2018 and 2019 but have held the top seed in every other tournament. The Trojans are 16-2 all-time on The Farm and their next win will be the 100th-career victory for fourth-year head coach Dain Blanton (99-13).

THIS WEEK
2023 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP
Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium • Stanford, Calif.
LIVE TV/STREAM: Pac-12 Networks

MATCH #30 • Wednesday, April 26 • 10:15 a.m. PT
[2] No. 3 USC (26-3) vs. [7] No. 20 Arizona (19-10)
Pac-12 Championship • Winner's Bracket Quarterfinal
TOURNAMENT WEBSITE: Pac-12.com

SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 11-0 (1.000)
STREAK: Won 11 • LAST 10: 10-0
LAST MEETING: W 4-1 (Apr. 8, 2023 • Stanford, Calif.)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: ArizonaWildcats.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).
The Trojans are 22-5 all-time in Pac-12 Championship tournament matches. USC won the title as the second seed in 2019.
USC is 99-13 (.884) under fourth-year head coach Dain Blanton.
The Trojans are ranked No. 3 in the AVCA and CBVB polls. It is the 98th time (of 98) USC is ranked by the AVCA; its 97th time in the top 5. The Trojans have also been ranked No. 1 a record 41 times.
USC became the first school to reach the 300-win mark with its victory over Loyola Marymount on April 14. The Trojans are 304-51 all-time.
The Women of Troy are 16-2 all-time in duals played in Stanford. The two losses were to UCLA in the 2018 Pac-12 championship.
USC has had nine double-digit win streaks all-time including a 14-dual streak that ended on April 15. The 14-match win streak ranks fifth in program history.
Twin seniors Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse rank third among pairs in school history with 84 total wins. The sisters have played 100 matches together, which also ranks third in program history. They need just seven wins to catch second place in school history (Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler; 2014-16).
Gr. Madison Shields and Fr. Madison White have won 18 of their last 19 matches together. Their active 15-match win streak is the longest by a USC pair this spring.
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: USC wrapped the regular season with a 5-0 sweep over CSU Bakersfield at home for Senior Day and then split matches at Mapes Beach with a 4-1 loss to No. 1-ranked UCLA and a 4-1 win over No. 5 Loyola Marymount. Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple extended their win streak to 12 matches and improved to 22-1 on the season. Through the three matches, the Trojans used their 30th different pairing due to illnesses but were still able to come up with a win over a top-5 opponent.

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: The Women of Troy hosted the inaugural Pac-12 championship in 2016 at Merle Norman Stadium and went 4-0 to win the school's first beach volleyball league title. USC went on to win the 2016 NCAA championship and carried a 62-match winning streak into the 2017 Pac-12 championship in Tucson, Ariz. Though the Trojans had their streak snapped, they went on to claim the 2017 crown for back-to-back championships. In 2018, UCLA got the best of the Women of Troy in two meetings on Stanford sand as the Bruins claimed their first Pac-12 title. USC and UCLA fought it out for the 2019 crown before the Trojans claimed a 3-2 win on home sand as the second seed for their third Pac-12 championship. The Bruins turned the tables and defeated a top-seeded Trojan team in 2021 on their own home sand, but the Trojans carried the top seed through to the trophy podium in Tucson for the 2022 championship. USC has held the No. 1 seed four times (2016, '17, '21, '22) and is 22-5 all-time in Pac-12 tournament duals.

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 of the six 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 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. USC's 14-dual win streak this season was the ninth all-time double-digit win streak.

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 98 weeks. USC has also been ranked in the top five of the poll 97 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.

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Players Mentioned

Delaney Karl

Megan Kraft

Delaynie Maple

Audrey Nourse

Nicole Nourse

Bailey Showalter

Mabyn Thomas

Gabby Walker

Madison White