No. 5 Women of Troy Host Three Duals on Senior Day

LOS ANGELES – The 5th-ranked USC beach volleyball team (20-10) will host three duals on Senior Day at Merle Norman Stadium, Tuesday, April 17, to close the regular-season schedule. Prior to the Trojans' dual at 4 p.m., the program will honor the careers of seniors Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer. The duo has won over 50 matches as a pair and each individual owns three national titles as members of the Women of Troy for each of the past four seasons.

In the day's first dual, No. 6 Long Beach State (22-4) takes on No. 16 Grand Canyon (11-14) at 2 p.m. PT. USC faces LBSU at 4 p.m., and then concludes the day with a dual against GCU at 6 p.m.

The Women of Troy are 42-7 all-time at Merle Norman Stadium, but have dropped narrow 3-2 decisions in each of this season's three home matches. The Trojans have struggled to find consistency this year and have utilized 18 different lineups with 24 different pairings throughout. At the top court, junior Abril Bustamante and freshman Tina Graudina lead all USC pairs with a 22-1 overall record. The duo enters the week on a 13-match winning streak.

MATCH #31 • Tuesday, April 17 • 4 p.m. PT
No. 5 USC (20-10) vs. No. 6 Long Beach State (22-4)
Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
Series History: USC leads, 6-5 (.545) • Streak: Won 5
Last Meeting: W, 4-1 (April 20, 2017 • Merle Norman Stadium)
Opponent Web: LongBeachState.com

MATCH #32 • Tuesday, April 17 • 6 p.m. PT
No. 5 USC (20-10) vs. No. 16 Grand Canyon (11-14)
Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
Series History: USC leads, 5-0 (1.000) • Streak: Won 5
Last Meeting: W, 5-0 (March 17, 2018 • Honolulu, Hawai'i)
Opponent Web: GCULopes.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 will honor seniors Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer before matches on Tuesday for Senior Day.
7th-year head coach Anna Collier is 166-28 (.856) and is the first and only collegiate head coach to reach 150 career victories.
At the top court, junior Abril Bustamante and freshman Tina Graudina lead all USC pairs with a 22-1 record and enter the week with a 13-match winning streak.
Only seven teams have ever beaten the Trojans in a dual match: Pepperdine (12), Long Beach State (5), Florida State (3), Hawai'i (3), UCLA (3), California (1), and LSU (1). Of those, only Pepperdine holds a winning record (12-10).
USC is 42-7 (.851) all-time at Merle Norman Stadium but is 0-3 at home this season.

SCOUTING REPORT: No. 6 Long Beach State (22-4) comes into the week on a five-match winning streak, but before that, had lost in three of its previous four duals. Each of the 49ers four overall losses were to higher-ranked opponents and three of those came in road contests. LBSU's top pair of Nele Barber and Rachel Nieto holds a 13-5 record at the No. 1 position and is 16-6 overall. USC is 6-5 all-time against Long Beach State, but the 49ers are one of just seven teams ever to have beaten the Trojans in a dual and one of just four ever to have won at Merle Norman Stadium (LBSU, Pepperdine, Florida State, UCLA). USC has won five straight over Long Beach entering the 12th meeting between the teams. No. 16 Grand Canyon (11-14) split matches in New Orleans last weekend but has won only three of its last 10 duals. The Trojans own two wins over the Lopes this season: a 3-2 victory on Feb. 24, and a 5-0 sweep on March 17. USC has won each of the five meetings with the Lopes; four of those in 5-0 sweeps. This is Grand Canyon's second trip to Merle Norman Stadium, but the first since March 14, 2013.

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!

LAST TIME OUT: The Women of Troy went 3-2 in five matches last week. USC dropped another 3-2 decision to No. 2 Pepperdine at home and then were upset at the Pac-12 North Invitational by No. 13-ranked California, 3-2. The Trojans picked up wins in Seattle over No. 14 Stanford, Washington, and Oregon. USC's top pair of Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina won all five of its matches. The duo improved to 22-1 overall and extended its winning streak to 13 straight. The No. 3 pair of Terese Cannon and Sammy Slater went 4-0 at the Pac-12 North Invitational and now stands at 19-4 on the year. Both pairs were named to the invitational all-tournament team and were joined by Haley Hallgren and Alexandra Poletto, which was the top pair at the No. 4 position.

CLOSING TIME: Seniors Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer are 12 wins from catching USC's third all-time winningest pair of All-Americans Sophie Bukovec and Alexa Strange. Despite only being paired for parts of two seasons, the duo has amassed 54 victories together (54-16 all-time). Bukovec and Strange earned 66 wins together over a two-year span.

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 166-28 (.856)all-time. The next closest coach is Pepperdine's Nina Matthies who reached 100 in 2017.

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Belton

Abril Bustamante

Tina Graudina

Jo Kremer

Alexandra Poletto