No. 2 USC Heads to Florida-Georgia Line For Four

LOS ANGELES – No. 2-ranked USC (10-1) takes a nine-match winning streak to the East Coast for spring break this week. On short rest, the Women of Troy take on No. 10 South Carolina (5-5) and No. 18 Georgia State (8-4) at the GSU Beach Volleyball Complex on Tuesday (March 12) in Atlanta, Ga. Then, the Trojans head south to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the FIU Invitational where they will face No. 16 Florida Atlantic (6-2) and No. 8 Florida International (5-4) on Friday (March 15). The Women of Troy are 12-1 in matches played on the East Coast with the only loss at the hands of Florida State in the team's inaugural season (2012). USC will play its first-ever match in the state of Georgia. Previously, the Trojans played in Tallahassee, Fla. (2012), Miami (2016), and Columbia, S.C. (2017).

MATCH #12 • Tuesday, March 12 • 10 a.m. ET
No. 2 USC (10-1) vs. No. 10 South Carolina (5-5)
GSU Beach Volleyball Complex • Atlanta, Ga.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 3-0 (1.000) • STREAK: Won 3
LAST MEETING: W, 4-0 (May 5, 2017 • Gulf Shores, Ala.)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GamecocksOnline.com

MATCH #13 • Tuesday, March 12 • 12:30 p.m. ET
No. 2 USC (10-1) at No. 18 Georgia State (8-4)
GSU Beach Volleyball Complex • Atlanta, Ga.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 3-0 (1.000) • STREAK: Won 3
LAST MEETING: W, 5-0 (Mar. 26, 2017 • Columbia, S.C.)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GeorgiaStateSports.com

2019 FIU FORT LAUDERDALE TOURNAMENT
Fort Lauderdale State Beach • Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

MATCH #14 • Friday, March 15 • 12 p.m. ET
No. 2 USC (10-1) vs. No. 16 Florida Atlantic (6-2)
Fort Lauderdale State Beach • Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 1-0 (1.000) • STREAK: Won 1
LAST MEETING: W, 5-0 (April 2, 2016 • Miami, Fla.)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: FAUSports.com

MATCH #15 • Friday, March 15 • 2 p.m. ET
No. 2 USC (10-1) vs. No. 8 Florida International (5-4)
Fort Lauderdale State Beach • Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 5-0 (1.000) • STREAK: Won 5
LAST MEETING: W, 3-2 (Mar. 9, 2019 • Manhattan Beach)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: FIUSports.com

BARE E-SAND-SHELLS

USC owns three beach volleyball national championships including the first-ever NCAA title in 2016 (AVCA, 2015).
8th-year head coach Anna Collier is 183-33 (.893) and is the first and only collegiate head coach to reach 150 career victories.
AVCA All-Americans Abril Bustamante (Sr.) and Tina Graudina (So.) top the Trojans' lineup. The duo is 42-2 all-time together.
Individually, Bustamante is 99-22; one win away from her 100th-career victory. Terese Cannon is 97-24 and can also eclipse the 100-win mark this week.
USC is 12-1 all-time on the East Coast. The only loss was a 4-1 result against Florida State in Tallahassee (Mar. 24, 2012) during the Trojans' inaugural season.
The Trojans will play their first-ever matches in the Peach State. USC's other visits to the East Coast were to Florida (2012, '16) and South Carolina (2017).
Bustamante and Graudina were named Pac-12 Pair of the Week (March 5).
Each of USC's top three pairs are made up of a senior and a sophomore.

SCOUTING REPORT: No. 10 South Carolina (5-5) holds a key 3-2 win over a then fourth-ranked LSU and has also defeated Tampa, UAB, Coastal Carolina, and UNC-Wilmington in 5-0 sweeps. At the top court, Cadie Bates and Shannon Williams are 5-4 overall to lead the Gamecocks. The Trojans may recognize Lauryn Gillis, who is a graduate transfer for South Carolina. Gillis played indoor volleyball at USC in 2014. USC has not lost to South Carolina in four previous meetings including once in the 2017 NCAA championship in Gulf Shores, Ala. No. 18 Georgia State (8-4) suffered two of its four losses in 3-2 results to TCU and Grand Canyon. Eden Hawes and Georgia Johnson lead the Panthers with a 9-3 record at the top court. The Trojans are 3-0 in all-time meetings against GSU. No. 16 Florida Atlantic (6-2) won five straight to open the season and owns five 5-0 sweeps this year. Its two losses were to LSU and Florida State in early March. Nicole Navarro and Carly Scarborough hold the top court for the Owls. USC's only previous meeting with FAU was in 2016, a 5-0 victory. No. 8 Florida International (5-4) suffered its first loss of the season against the Trojans in this weekend's East Meets West Invitational. The Panthers dropped 3-2 decisions to USC, Hawai'i, and Pepperdine on the West Coast and lost to No. 1 UCLA, 4-1. Margherita Bianchin and Federica Frasca hold the top court for the Panthers. USC is 5-0 all-time against FIU.

LAST TIME OUT: The Women of Troy extended its winning streak to nine duals with six wins last week. In home matches, the Trojans defeated No. 4-ranked Florida State, 3-2, and No. 15 Stetson, 4-1, to improve to 47-8 all-time on Merle Norman Stadium sand. In two days of action at the East Meets West Invitational in Manhattan Beach, Calif., the Trojans claimed a 3-2 win over No. 9 Florida International, a 5-0 sweep of No. 19 TCU, a 4-1 win over No. 6 LSU, and another 3-2 result over the Seminoles. The nine-match streak eclipses the Trojans' six-match high from 2018 and is the longest since USC won 62 in a row between 2016 and 2017 including 32 straight to open the 2017 campaign.

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 and Facebook.

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 183-33 (.893) all-time. The next closest coach was Pepperdine's Nina Matthies who reached 100 in 2017 and retired from coaching following the 2018 season with 137 career victories. The next nearest active coach to Collier is UCLA's Stein Metzger who started the season at 110-38 and is now 124-38 (.765).

CENTURY CITY: Seniors Abril Bustamante and Terese Cannon are closing in on memberships to USC's 100-win club. Bustamante is one win away with a 99-22 career-record and Cannon needs three wins at 97-24 all-time. Only six Trojans have ever eclipsed 100 wins including school-record holder Sara Hughes who collected 190 wins in her four seasons. The others are Kelly Claes (180), Nicolette Martin (141), Allie Wheeler (130), Jenna Belton (124), and Jo Kremer (103).

PAIR'S LAIR: USC's pair of Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina has won 42 matches (42-2) and are tied for fifth all-time among Trojan pairs. They need eight more victories to become just the fifth pair to win 50 matches in school history. At the top of that list is Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes who won 147 matches.

POW-WOW: USC pairs have won the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week award 14 times since its inception in 2016. Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina won the program's first award of 2019 (March 5). In 2018, Bustamante paired with Terese Cannon for one of two USC awards. She also won with a then-freshman Graudina. 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. Jenna Belton and Jo Kremer became the first-ever No. 5 pair to win the honor on March 21, 2017. USC's Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler have the great distinction of being the first-ever Pac-12 Pair of the Week honorees. The duo was chosen from the No. 3 position on March 8, 2016, when they were juniors.

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Belton

Abril Bustamante

Terese Cannon

Tina Graudina

Jo Kremer