Wednesday, February 28
Los Angeles, Calif.
2:30 PM
USC
vs
UCLA at USC
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
Photo by: John McGillen
No. 1 USC Set for Four Top-Five Duals This Week
February 27, 2018 | Women's Beach Volleyball, Features
The Women of Troy face No. 3 UCLA and No. 5 Pepperdine twice each this week
LOS ANGELES – No. 1-ranked USC (4-0) rekindles its two most heated rivalries with back-to-back duals against No. 3 UCLA (3-1) and No. 5 Pepperdine (2-1). The Trojans face the Bruins and the Waves at Merle Norman Stadium on Wednesday (Feb. 28) and then meet the two teams again on Saturday (March 3) on Zuma Beach for the Zuma Classic hosted by Pepperdine.
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Wednesday's matches are USC's home openers at Merle Norman Stadium where the Trojans are 42-4 all-time. USC and Pepperdine faced off in the NCAA title match last May. The Trojans won, 3-2, and have won six straight over the Waves. USC's only loss last season was dealt by UCLA in the Pac-12 semifinals.
MATCH #5 • Wednesday, Feb. 28 • 2:30 p.m. PT
Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
No. 1 USC (4-0) vs. No. 3 UCLA (3-1)
Series History: USC leads, 8-1 (.889) • Streak: W1
Last Meeting: W, 3-2 (Apr. 28, 2017 • Tucson, Ariz.)
TV: P12N/LA (Anne Marie Anderson & Holly McPeak)
Opponent Web: UCLABruins.com
MATCH #6 • Wednesday, Feb. 28 • 4 p.m. PT
Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
No. 1 USC (4-0) vs. No. 5 Pepperdine (2-1)
Series History: USC leads, 10-8 (.556) • Streak: W6
Last Meeting: W, 3-2 (May 7, 2017 • Gulf Shores, Ala.)
TV: P12N/LA (Anne Marie Anderson & Holly McPeak)
Opponent Web: PepperdineWaves.com
MATCH #7 & #8 • Saturday, March 3 • ZUMA CLASSIC
Zuma Beach • Malibu, Calif.
at No. 5 Pepperdine (2-1) • 9 a.m. PT
vs. No. 3 UCLA (3-1) • 10:15 a.m. PT
BARE E-SAND-SHELLS
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SCOUTING REPORT: The No. 3 Bruins (3-1) defeated Stanford, 5-0, to open the season but turned around to drop a 5-0 decision at Hawai'i. UCLA then defeated Stanford, 3-2, and exacted revenge on the Wahine with another 3-2 win at the Rainbow Wahine Classic. USC leads UCLA, 8-1, in the all-time series history. The only Bruin win was also the only loss for the 2017 Trojans. The 3-2 UCLA victory snapped USC's NCAA-record 62-match winning streak, but the Trojans rebounded to defeat the Bruins, 3-2, in the Pac-12 final and later won the NCAA title. No. 5 Pepperdine opened the season with a 3-2 loss to Cal Poly, but earned 4-1 wins over LSU and Grand Canyon on opening weekend. The Waves are owners of two AVCA national titles (2012 and 2014). USC defeated Pepperdine, 3-2, in the NCAA title match in May and has won the last six meetings to lead the all-time series, 10-8.
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POW-WOW: USC pairs have won the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week award 11 times since its inception in 2016. Trojans claimed five of the eight awards in 2017. All-Americans Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes are owners of a record five Pac-12 POW awards. Seniors Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer became the first-ever No. 5 pair to win the honor on March 21, 2017.
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LET'S GO STREAKING: USC set a new program record to close the 2016 season as winners of 30 consecutive matches. That streak carried into the 2017 campaign and reached 62 before a loss on April 28 in the Pac-12 Championship winner's bracket final. The 62 victories rank sixth among longest streaks in the history of USC athletics. All-Americans Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes won 103 straight matches as a pair between April 2, 2015 and April 8, 2017. During that incredible streak, the two Trojans lost just seven sets (only one in 2016 and one in 2017).
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Wednesday's matches are USC's home openers at Merle Norman Stadium where the Trojans are 42-4 all-time. USC and Pepperdine faced off in the NCAA title match last May. The Trojans won, 3-2, and have won six straight over the Waves. USC's only loss last season was dealt by UCLA in the Pac-12 semifinals.
MATCH #5 • Wednesday, Feb. 28 • 2:30 p.m. PT
Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
No. 1 USC (4-0) vs. No. 3 UCLA (3-1)
Series History: USC leads, 8-1 (.889) • Streak: W1
Last Meeting: W, 3-2 (Apr. 28, 2017 • Tucson, Ariz.)
TV: P12N/LA (Anne Marie Anderson & Holly McPeak)
Opponent Web: UCLABruins.com
MATCH #6 • Wednesday, Feb. 28 • 4 p.m. PT
Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
No. 1 USC (4-0) vs. No. 5 Pepperdine (2-1)
Series History: USC leads, 10-8 (.556) • Streak: W6
Last Meeting: W, 3-2 (May 7, 2017 • Gulf Shores, Ala.)
TV: P12N/LA (Anne Marie Anderson & Holly McPeak)
Opponent Web: PepperdineWaves.com
MATCH #7 & #8 • Saturday, March 3 • ZUMA CLASSIC
Zuma Beach • Malibu, Calif.
at No. 5 Pepperdine (2-1) • 9 a.m. PT
vs. No. 3 UCLA (3-1) • 10:15 a.m. PT
BARE E-SAND-SHELLS
- USC is the three-time defending national champion and won the first-ever NCAA title in the sport in 2016 (AVCA, 2015). The Trojans are also the two-time defending Pac-12 Champions.
- The Women of Troy have won 104 of their last 107 dual matches.
- 7th-year head coach Anna Collier is 150-18 (.893) and was the first coach to reach 100 career victories; now just one of two.
- Only five teams have ever beaten the Trojans in a dual: Pepperdine (8), Long Beach State (5), Florida State (3), Hawai'i (1), and UCLA (1).
- The USC-Pepperdine dual is a rematch of the 2017 NCAA title match. The Trojans won, 3-2, and have beaten the Waves in each of their last six meetings.
- USC went 38-1 in 2017, but the lone loss was dealt by crosstown rival UCLA in the Pac-12 championship semifinals. The loss also snapped a 62-dual winning streak.
- The Trojans are 42-4 (.913) all-time at Merle Norman Stadium. USC has won 16 consecutive home duals since a 3-2 loss to Florida State on March 11, 2016.
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SCOUTING REPORT: The No. 3 Bruins (3-1) defeated Stanford, 5-0, to open the season but turned around to drop a 5-0 decision at Hawai'i. UCLA then defeated Stanford, 3-2, and exacted revenge on the Wahine with another 3-2 win at the Rainbow Wahine Classic. USC leads UCLA, 8-1, in the all-time series history. The only Bruin win was also the only loss for the 2017 Trojans. The 3-2 UCLA victory snapped USC's NCAA-record 62-match winning streak, but the Trojans rebounded to defeat the Bruins, 3-2, in the Pac-12 final and later won the NCAA title. No. 5 Pepperdine opened the season with a 3-2 loss to Cal Poly, but earned 4-1 wins over LSU and Grand Canyon on opening weekend. The Waves are owners of two AVCA national titles (2012 and 2014). USC defeated Pepperdine, 3-2, in the NCAA title match in May and has won the last six meetings to lead the all-time series, 10-8.
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POW-WOW: USC pairs have won the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week award 11 times since its inception in 2016. Trojans claimed five of the eight awards in 2017. All-Americans Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes are owners of a record five Pac-12 POW awards. Seniors Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer became the first-ever No. 5 pair to win the honor on March 21, 2017.
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LET'S GO STREAKING: USC set a new program record to close the 2016 season as winners of 30 consecutive matches. That streak carried into the 2017 campaign and reached 62 before a loss on April 28 in the Pac-12 Championship winner's bracket final. The 62 victories rank sixth among longest streaks in the history of USC athletics. All-Americans Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes won 103 straight matches as a pair between April 2, 2015 and April 8, 2017. During that incredible streak, the two Trojans lost just seven sets (only one in 2016 and one in 2017).
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