University Southern California Trojans
No. 1 USC Carries 19-Match Streak Into Aloha Invitational
April 20, 2016 | Women's Beach Volleyball
Follow, Like, Instagram, Periscope, and Snap with @USCBeach
April 19, 2016
MATCHES #26-28
2016 OUTRIGGER RESORTS ALOHA INVITATIONAL
Queen's Beach • Honolulu, Hawai'i
Friday-Saturday, April 22-23 • TBA HT
TV: CBS Sports Network (Final Only)
Web Site: www.AlohaInvitational.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 has won 19 straight duals; the third longest winning streak in program history (28 in 2015; 21 in 2014).
- Only two teams hold winning records against USC: Pepperdine (8-6), FSU (3-2).
- Fifth-year head coach Anna Collier was the 2014 AVCA National Coach of the Year and has a 97-17 overall record with USC. She is just three wins from becoming the first collegiate beach volleyball coach to reach 100 career victories.
- Four Trojan duos have won Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week honors. Juniors Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler were chosen as the first-ever winning tandem on March 7. Juniors Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes were selected March 21 and April 11. Sophomore Jenna Belton and freshman Abril Bustamante won March 28. Most recently, junior Sophie Bukovec and senior Alexa Strange were chosen for the award on April 18.
- Claes and Hughes have dropped just one set and have a 31-0 record this season. The tandem has won 56 straight matches dating back to April 2, 2015.
- Martin and Wheeler hold the school record for wins by a pair with 83 all-time.
LOS ANGELES -- The top-ranked USC beach volleyball team (23-2) will bring a 19-match winning streak into this weekend's seven-team competition at the Outrigger Resorts Aloha Invitational on the sands of Queen's Beach in Honolulu. The Women of Troy hold the No. 1 seed in the tournament and will receive a first-round bye. They will play their first dual in a double-elimination format on Friday, April 22, at 11 a.m. HT. The Trojans will play their next match on Saturday, April 23, at 10 a.m. HT, and should they advance to the final, they will play at approximately 2:30 p.m. HT in a match set to be shown on CBS Sports Network.
USC joins a strong field of teams, which includes fifth-ranked host Hawai'i (11-6), No. 6 Long Beach State (9-9), and No. 10 Florida International (11-7). Among unranked competition, the Trojans could meet Louisiana-Monroe (10-15), Pac-12 for Washington (3-1), and Grand Canyon (15-6). The Invitational will also feature a pairs' competition for the top two pairs from each institution and an additional tournament for at-large pairs from each school.
The Trojans' 19 consecutive wins is the program's third-longest streak. USC won 28 in a row in 2015 (28-0) and won 21 in straight in 2014. Head coach Anna Collier is just three wins from becoming the first collegiate beach volleyball coach to reach 100 career victories.
LAST TIME OUT: The Women of Troy concluded their regular-season home schedule on a 4-1 victory over rival Pepperdine at Merle Norman Stadium. The win was USC's sixth in its last eight meetings with the Waves. The Trojans then visited Fort Worth, Texas, for the 2016 Cowtown Classic hosted by TCU. USC defeated New Mexico, Louisiana-Monroe, and host TCU each in 5-0 sweeps for their 11th, 12th, and 13th sweeps of the season. It also extended the Trojans' winning streak to 19 consecutive matches. During the weekend, the Trojans pair of juniors Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes went 4-0 to push their own winning streak to 56 straight (31-0 on the season).
SCOUTING REPORT: The Trojans have already met four of the teams at the Outrigger Resorts Aloha Invitational this season. USC is 3-0 against host No. 5 Hawai'i, 2-0 against No. 6 Long Beach State, and 1-0 against both No. 10 Florida International and Louisiana-Monroe. The Trojans have previously faced Grand Canyon (2-0 all-time) but a meeting with Pac-12 for Washington would be the first-ever in program history.
MAY THE FOURS BE WITH YOU: Four different Trojan pairs have been named Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week this season, the Pac-12's inaugural championship year. Juniors Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler became the first-ever duo to be named 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. On March 21, juniors Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes were named Pair of the Week following a 7-0 mark in Hawai'i during which the duo claimed the Hawai'i Invitational gold title and helped the Trojans to a 4-0 record in duals on the islands. Sophomore Jenna Belton and freshman Abril Bustamante were named Pair of the Week on March 28 on the strength of two straight-set wins over LBSU and California. Claes and Hughes became the first pair in conference history to repeat for the award when they were named again on April 11, following their title run at the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge. On April 18, junior Sophie Bukovec and senior Alexa Strange became the fourth pair to win the award after they delivered the clinching point in a 4-1 victory over No. 2 Pepperdine and then crushed competition at the Cowtown Classic to help USC to three 5-0 sweeps.
HOME, SWEET, HOME: The Women of Troy are 30-4 at Merle Norman Stadium since the venue's opening in 2013. The Trojans won 19 straight home matches between 2014 and 2016; 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: Florida State (twice), Long Beach State, and Pepperdine.
ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS: Head coach Anna Collier is three wins from becoming the first collegiate beach volleyball coach to reach the 100 career victories mark. She is currently 97-17 all-time at Troy.
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 83-13 all-time record. The duo has played together since their arrival on campus in 2014. Claes and Hughes began playing together in 2015 and notched the all-time single season record for wins by a pair with a 44-3 record. Claes and Hughes are 75-3 all-time.
LET'S GO STREAKING: Juniors Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes have won 56 straight matches dating back to April 2, 2015. During that streak, the two Trojans have lost just six sets. The dynamic duo won 25 straight matches to close the 2015 season as AVCA National Pairs Champions and finished with a final mark of 44-3.
