All-American Allie Wheeler Wins FIVB Gold with Lara Dykstra in Vaduz

VADUZ, Liechtenstein – USC beach volleyball All-American Allie Wheeler partnered with Lara Dykstra (Pepperdine/Nebraska) to claim gold medals at the FIVB's (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball) World Tour one-star Vaduz event at Rathausplatz on Saturday, Aug. 11. Representing the U.S., the tandem went 7-1 in the tournament to earn their first-career FIVB gold medals.

Dykstra-Wheeler needed every point in a three-set qualification victory over Italy's duo of Carolina Ferraris and Francesca Michieletto. The Americans won 21-13, 20-22, 15-13, to move into the second round. There, Dykstra-Wheeler took down Tatjana Greber and Kim Huber of Switzerland in straight sets, 21-14, 21-18, to earn a spot in the main draw.

In pool play, Dykstra and Wheeler won their first match over Israel's team of Anita Deev and Sofia Starikov, 21-16, 21-16. They dropped their second match, 21-16, 21-17, to Greeks Konstantina Tsopoulou and Dimitra Manavi, but still advanced to the elimination rounds. In the round of 12, Dykstra-Wheeler defeated Sweden's pair of Fanny Lindström and Sara Malmström in straight sets, 21-13, 21-11.

Into the quarterfinals, Dykstra-Wheeler needed three sets to dispatch of Austrian sisters Dorina and Ronja Klinger, but earned a spot in the semifinals with a 21-18, 16-21, 15-8 win. In the semis, Dykstra and Wheeler took down Esmée Böbner and Zoé Vergé-Dépré of Switzerland by a 21-19, 21-19 count for their spot in the championship match.

Under the lights in Vaduz, Dykstra and Wheeler earned another straight-set win to clinch the top spot on the podium. The final match ended in a 21-13, 21-17 result as Dykstra-Wheeler defeated the Polish pair of Agata Ceynowa and Martyna Kloda.

This past spring, 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. Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina were named AVCA All-Americans and were chosen as the Volleyball Magazine National Pair of the Year.

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 Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Players Mentioned

Abril Bustamante

Tina Graudina

Allie Wheeler