University Southern California Trojans
No. 2 Trojans Host Three to Open Home Slate
March 09, 2016 | Women's Beach Volleyball
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March 9, 2016
MATCH #5
No. 2 USC (3-1) vs. Arizona State (2-2)
Thursday, March 10 • 6 p.m. PT
Series History: USC leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: W, 4-1 (Apr. 18, 2015 • Santa Monica)
Opponent Web: www.TheSunDevils.com
MATCH #6
No. 2 USC (3-1) vs. No. 4 Florida State (5-0)
Friday, March 11 • 11 a.m. PT
Series History: Tied, 2-2
Last Meeting: W, 4-1 (Mar. 13, 2015 • MNS)
Opponent Web: www.Seminoles.com
MATCH #7
No. 2 USC (3-1) vs. Loyola Marymount (1-2)
Friday, March 11 • 12:30 p.m. PT
Series History: USC leads, 13-0
Last Meeting: W, 4-1 (Apr. 9, 2015 • MNS)
Opponent Web: www.LMULions.com
BARE E-SAND-SHELLS
- The Women of Troy are the defending national champions. USC won the school's 123rd team title by claiming the 2015 AVCA crown.
- USC returns four All-Americans to its lineup including defending pairs champions Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes, and Sophie Bukovec and Alexa Strange.
- Fifth-year head coach Anna Collier was the 2014 AVCA National Coach of the Year and has a 77-16 overall record with the Women of Troy.
- 2016 marks the inaugural season for beach volleyball as an NCAA championship sport. The Pac-12 will also sponsor a championship tournament.
- USC has won 18 straight matches at Merle Norman Stadium. It last lost at home on March 26, 2013 (4-1 to Pepperdine).
- The Trojans have never lost to Arizona State (3-0) and LMU (13-0).
- Juniors Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler were chosen as the first-ever Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week on Monday, March 7.
LOS ANGELES -- The No. 2-ranked defending national champion USC beach volleyball team (3-1) plays its first home matches this week. The Women of Troy host Arizona State (2-2), No. 4 Florida State (5-0), and Loyola Marymount (1-2) at Merle Norman Stadium where they have won 18 straight matches. The Trojans and the Sun Devils will meet at 6 p.m. PT on Thursday, March 10, before USC welcomes the Seminoles for an 11 a.m. match on Friday, March 11. The Trojans conclude the three-match home stand with the Lions at approximately 12:30 p.m. The USC-FSU and USC-LMU matches will each be carried live by Pac-12 Los Angeles with JB Long and Holly McPeak on the broadcast. The Women of Troy had a 29-match winning streak halted by Pepperdine last weekend but came away from a brutal four-match tournament in Malibu, Calif., with a 3-1 mark.
PAC-12 PAIR OF THE WEEK: USC's pair of juniors Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler became the first-ever duo to be named the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week on March 7. The tandem produced a 4-0 record on the Trojans' opening weekend and provided the clinching points in USC's wins over No. 3 Hawai'i and No. 4 Long Beach State.
HOME, SWEET, HOME: The Women of Troy are 25-3 at Merle Norman Stadium since the venue's opening in 2013. The Trojans have won 18 straight home matches and went 10-0 in 2015 and 8-0 in 2014 on MNS sand. Only three teams have ever come to Merle Norman Stadium and beaten the Trojans (all in 2013): Florida State, Long Beach State, and Pepperdine.
JUNIOR CITIZENS: The Trojans' junior pairs of Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes, and Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler are the winningest pairs in the program's history. Martin and Wheeler have the most wins of any pair with a 59-10 all-time record. The duo has played together since their arrival on campus in 2014. Claes and Hughes only spent 2015 together but notched the all-time single season record for wins by a pair with a 44-3 record. Claes and Hughes are 48-3 all-time.
HAT TRICK: The Women of Troy have won each of the last three AVCA pairs' national championships. Kirby Burnham and Stevi Robinson claimed the title in 2013. Burnham then won again with Sara Hughes in 2014. Following Burnham's graduation, Hughes teamed with Kelly Claes to win the 2015 crown. With the NCAA's sponsorship of beach volleyball as its 90th championship sport, the organization decided to hold a team championship and not a pairs tournament. As such, the Trojans will be the reigning and defending pairs national champs until a tournament is reinstated.
NCAA START: 2016 marks the first year that the NCAA will officially sponsor beach volleyball as a championship sport. It is the NCAA's 90th championship and will again be contested in Gulf Shores, Ala., the site of the four AVCA national championships from 2012-15. In addition, the Pac-12, now with eight teams, will sponsor a conference championship the weekend of April 28-May 1. The championship will produce both a team winner and a pairs winner with the team earning an automatic berth in the first-ever NCAA championship field. USC's Merle Norman Stadium will host the first-ever Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Championship with selected matches set for broadcast on Pac-12 Network.
SCOUTING REPORT: The Trojans will host familiar foes when Arizona State, Florida State, and Loyola Marymount visit Merle Norman Stadium this week. USC is 3-0 against the Sun Devils and 13-0 against the Lions all-time. The Trojans and the Seminoles have split all-time matches and are 2-2 in four meetings. USC has won the last two over Florida State, but the Seminoles are one of just three teams ever to have beaten USC at Merle Norman Stadium.
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!
