April Ross Wins AVP Austin Open with Alix Klineman

AUSTIN, Texas – USC women's volleyball All-American and two-time Olympic medalist April Ross teamed with partner Alix Klineman to win the 2018 AVP Austin Open on Sunday, May 20. It is Ross's 30th-career first-place finish in an AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) event and the first for Klineman, who was an All-American outside hitter at Stanford.

Ross and Klineman fought through a thrilling title match to defeat seventh-seeded Lauren Fendrick (UCLA) and Sarah Sponcil (UCLA) by a 24-22, 25-23 count.

As the top seed in the tournament, Ross-Klineman defeated the 16th-seeded duo of former Trojans Falyn Fonoimoana and Alexa Strange in their opening match, 22-20, 21-19. They then took down Jace Pardon (Florida State) and Brittany Tiegs (Hawai'i) in a three-set quarterfinal match, 21-13, 20-22, 15-11.

In the main draw semifinals, the duo met Sarah Day (Cal State Fullerton) and USC grad Nicolette Martin where they earned a 21-17, 21-17 win to advance to the main draw's final. There, they defeated Lane Carico (Miami) and Karolina Marciniak (Poland), 19-21, 21-7, 15-13. Carico and Marciniak had previously battled back through the contender's bracket.

Many Trojans competed at the AVP Austin Open. Martin finished in fifth place with Day. Geena Urango took 13th place with partner Ali McColloch (Long Beach State/UCLA). Fonoimoana-Strange also finished in 13th. Allie Wheeler partnered with Corrine Quiggle (Pepperdine) for a 17th-place finish.

The Women of Troy (27-14) finished as the runner-up at the Pac-12 Championship and were chosen as one of two at-large selections into the 2018 NCAA Championship. The Trojans advanced to the Saturday final at the championship and finished in fourth place. Seventh-year head coach Anna Collier collected her 170th victory this season.

For more information on the three-time national champion USC beach volleyball team and a complete schedule, please visit USCTrojans.com and follow @USCBeach on Facebook, Twitter, Periscope, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Players Mentioned

Nicolette Martin

Allie Wheeler