No. 2 USC Faces Four For East Meets West Challenge

LOS ANGELES – No. 2-ranked USC (5-3) takes on four top-20 foes in the East Meets West Challenge hosted by UCLA at the Manhattan Beach Pier this weekend (March 10-11). The Women of Troy look to start a new winning streak when they face No. 13 Florida International (6-1) and No. 9 LSU (5-3) on Saturday. The Trojans then face No. 5 Florida State (8-0) and No. 20 TCU (3-4) on Sunday. USC is not ranked No. 1 in the AVCA coaches poll for the first time since April 9, 2016; a date when it faced and beat No. 1 Pepperdine as the No. 2-ranked team. The Trojans have held the No. 1 ranking for a record 24 times.

2018 EAST MEETS WEST CHALLENGE
Manhattan Beach Pier • Manhattan Beach, Calif.

MATCH #9 • Saturday, March 10 • 10:30 a.m. PT
No. 2 USC (5-3) vs. No. 13 Florida International (6-1)
Series History: USC leads, 2-0 (1.000) • Streak: W2
Last Meeting: W, 4-1 (March 11, 2017 • Manhattan Beach)
Opponent Web: FIUsports.com

MATCH #10 • Saturday, March 10 • 12:30 p.m. PT
No. 2 USC (5-3) vs. No. 9 Louisiana State (5-3)
Series History: USC leads, 1-0 (1.000) • Streak: W1
Last Meeting: W, 4-1 (March 11, 2017 • Manhattan Beach)
Opponent Web: LSUsports.net

MATCH #11 • Sunday, March 11 • 1 p.m. PT
No. 2 USC (5-3) vs. No. 20 TCU (3-4)
Series History: USC leads, 2-0 (1.000) • Streak: W2
Last Meeting: W, 5-0 (April 16, 2016 • Fort Worth, Texas)
Opponent Web: GoFrogs.com

MATCH #12 • Sunday, March 11 • 4 p.m. PT
No. 2 USC (5-3) vs. No. 5 Florida State (8-0)
Series History: USC leads, 7-3 (.700) • Streak: W5
Last Meeting: W, 4-1 (March 25, 2017 • Columbia, S.C.)
Opponent Web: Seminoles.com

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 105 of their last 111 dual matches.
7th-year head coach Anna Collier is 151-21 (.875) and is the first collegiate head coach to reach 150 career victories.
Only five teams have ever beaten the Trojans in a dual: Pepperdine (10), Long Beach State (5), Florida State (3), UCLA, (2), and Hawai'i (1).
USC is 12-3 against its four scheduled opponents this weekend.
Seniors Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer lead all USC pairs with seven wins.

CORE STRENGTH: The USC lineup returns five starters with seniors Jenna Belton, Jo Kremer, and Terese Cannon at the forefront. Junior Abril Bustamante and sophomore Joy Dennis were also integral pieces to the 2017 championship team. Junior Katrina Kernochan--who partnered with eighth different teammates a season ago--and sophomores Cammie Dorn and Lainy Thomas are also back to bolster the Trojans' lineup. Transfers junior Brianna Sizemore and senior Alexandra Poletto will factor into the lineup as well. USC's freshman class includes Haley Hallgren, Sammy Slater, Maja Kaiser, Tina Graudina, and Peri Green.

SCOUTING REPORT: The No. 13-ranked Panthers' (6-1) only loss was a 3-2 decision against College of Charleston last weekend. Margherita Bianchin and Federica Frasca form FIU's top pair, which is 7-0 in duals at the No. 1 position. The Trojans are 2-0 all-time against FIU and took a 4-1 win over the Panthers at Manhattan Beach last spring. One of No. 9 LSU's three losses was to Pepperdine and three of its wins were over Cal Poly, Nebraska, and Grand Canyon; four opponents that USC has also faced. USC has faced and beaten LSU just once; on Manhattan Beach a year ago. Fifth-ranked Florida State (8-0) is one of two undefeated teams in the AVCA top 20. They are also one of just five teams ever to have beaten USC in a dual. USC is 7-3 all-time against the Seminoles and has won the last five meetings. Francesca Goncalves and Sara Putt are 8-0 at the top court for FSU. No. 20 TCU has lost three in a row coming into the weekend including to No. 18 Tulane and No. 8 Cal Poly. USC is 2-0 against TCU and last beat the Horned Frogs, 5-0, in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2016.

COACHING CONNECTIONS: USC will see a pair of familiar faces at this weekend's competition. Fourth-year LSU head coach Russell Brock was a standout men's volleyball player for the Trojans. He still holds several USC records from the sideout-scoring era including career digs (879), digs in a single match (27), and single-season digs average (3.02 dps). Brock graduated in 1996 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. Second-year TCU graduate assistant coach Sara Shaw was a star outside hitter for the indoor Women of Troy and played for the beach Trojans in their inaugural season. Shaw helped lead the indoor program to four appearances in the NCAA regional finals and two NCAA final four berths. On the sand, she teamed with Geena Urango to advance to the 2012 AVCA Pairs' National Championship quarterfinals. Shaw graduated from USC in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in human biology.

POW-WOW: USC pairs have won the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week award 12 times since its inception in 2016. Abril Bustamante and Terese Cannon claimed the first award of 2018 on Feb. 27. In 2017, USC pairs claimed five of the eight awards. 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.

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).

HIGH MARKS: Trojan All-Americans Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes are the winningest pair in program history. The duo won 147 matches (4 losses) together over the course of a three-year relationship. Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler formed the second-most successful duo in school history from 2014-16 as they amassed 91 victories (91-14) through the end of the 2016 NCAA championship run. Claes and Hughes own the USC single-season record for wins with a 48-0 mark achieved in 2016 and the record for longest winning streak with a 103-match run between April 2, 2015 and April 8, 2017.

ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS: On Saturday, April 23, 2016, USC defeated Hawai'i, 3-0, to make head coach Anna Collier the first collegiate beach volleyball coach to reach the 100 career victories mark. She is now 151-21 (.878) all-time. The next closest coach is Pepperdine's Nina Matthies who reached 100 in 2017.

Players Mentioned

Jenna Belton

Abril Bustamante

Terese Cannon

Kelly Claes

Joy Dennis

Cammie Dorn

Tina Graudina

Peri Green

Haley Hallgren

Sara Hughes

Maja Kaiser

Katrina Kernochan

Jo Kremer

Nicolette Martin

Alexandra Poletto

Sammy Slater

Lainy Thomas

Allie Wheeler