Women's Beach Volleyball | April 02, 2019

LOS ANGELES – No. 2-ranked USC (16-3) opens a five-dual week with a rematch against crosstown rival No. 1-ranked UCLA (21-0) on Wednesday, April 3, at Sunset Canyon. The Women of Troy have lost five straight to the Bruins including a 3-2 decision on Feb. 27 at Merle Norman Stadium. The Trojans will get two cracks at the defending Pac-12 and NCAA champion this week. The rivals will also meet in the Pac-12 North Invitational where USC also takes on No. 12 California (14-3), No. 19 Stanford (8-10), and Washington (6-6).

MATCH #20 • Wednesday, April 3 • 3 p.m.
No. 2 USC (16-3) at No. 1 UCLA (21-0)
Sunset Canyon Recreation Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 9-7 (.563) • STREAK: Lost 5
LAST MEETING: L 3-2 (Feb. 27, 2019 • MNS)
TV: Pac-12 Network/Pac-12 LA (Holly McPeak & Anne Marie Anderson)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCLABruins.com
 
2019 PAC-12 NORTH INVITATIONAL
Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium • Stanford, Calif.
 
MATCH #21 • Saturday, April 6 • 11 a.m. PT
No. 2 USC (16-3) vs. No. 12 California (14-3)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 7-1 (.875) • STREAK: Lost 1
LAST MEETNG: L, 3-2 (April 15, 2018 • Seattle, Wash.)
 
MATCH #22 • Saturday, April 6 • 5 p.m. PT
No. 2 USC (16-3) at No. 19 Stanford (8-10)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 4-0 (1.000) • STREAK: Won 4
LAST MEETNG: W, 5-0 (March 2, 2019 • Tucson, Ariz.)
 
MATCH #23 • Sunday, April 7 • 9 a.m. PT
No. 2 USC (16-3) vs. No. 1 UCLA (21-0)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 9-7 (.563) • STREAK: Lost 5
LAST MEETNG: L, 3-2 (Feb. 27, 2019 • MNS)
 
MATCH #24 • Sunday, April 7 • 11 a.m. PT
No. 2 USC (16-3) vs. Washington (6-6)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 3-0 (1.000) • STREAK: Won 3
LAST MEETNG: W, 5-0 (April 28, 2017 • Tucson, Ariz.)

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 189-35 (.887) and is the first and only collegiate head coach to reach 150 career victories.
• USC has been involved in 12 previous No. 1 vs. No. 2 duals and are 7-5 in those matches. USC is 5-3 as No. 1; and 2-2 as No. 2.
• The Trojans will face crosstown rival UCLA for the second time at Sunset Canyon. The Bruins won, 3-2, in 2018.
• USC is 4-2 all-time at the Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium, which includes matches played there for the 2018 Pac-12 Championship.
• AVCA All-Americans Abril Bustamante (Sr.) and Tina Graudina (So.) top the Trojans' lineup. The duo is 49-3 all-time together; the fifth most successful pair in program history for total victories.
• Individually, Bustamante is 106-23 and Sr. Terese Cannon is 102-27 all-time. They rank sixth and eighth all-time among USC individuals for career wins.

USC will play at Sunset Canyon for only the second time. Last year, the Bruins won a 3-2 affair. The Trojans have played in 12 No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups and have a 7-5 record in those duals. In 1v2 against UCLA, USC is 2-1 as the No. 1-ranked team and 0-1 as the No. 2-ranked team.

SCOUTING REPORT: Top-ranked UCLA (21-0) is undefeated in defense of its NCAA title and is led by twin seniors Megan and Nicole McNamara. The sisters are 18-1 at the top court with the lone loss to USC's duo of Bustamante and Graudina. No. 12 California (14-3) has won seven of its last eight and two its three losses were 3-2 finals against Hawai'i. The Golden Bears are led by Mima Mirkovic and Jordan Polo who have a 13-3 mark at the top court. No. 19 Stanford (8-10) enters the weekend following a 4-1 win over CSUN and a 4-1 loss to Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif., last week. Charlie Eckstrom and Tori Ashkinos went 1-1 at the top court for the Cardinal in those duals. Washington (6-6) is coming off back-to-back losses to Arizona. Destiny Julye and Kristen Gengenbacher won both times against the Wildcats and are 7-2 overall this spring.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Women of Troy dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to No. 5-ranked Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif. It came down to the No. 4 pair and a 16-14 third-set decision for the Waves to claim victory. USC got wins at the Nos. 1 and 3 positions, where each pair improved to 18-1 on the season.
 
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 189-35 (.887) 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 131-38 (.775).
 
CENTURY CITY: Seniors Abril Bustamante and Terese Cannon reached 100 career wins during a trip to the East Coast. They are the seventh and eighth players to reach that career plateau with the Trojans. Bustamante is 106-23 and Cannon is 102-27 all-time. The six other Trojans among the top eight are school-record holder Sara Hughes (190); 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 49 matches (49-3) and are fifth all-time among Trojan pairs. They need one more victory 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.
 
NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Trojan pairs have twice been chosen for the AVCA/CollegeBeachVB.com National Pair of the Week award. Both times, senior Abril Bustamante and sophomore Tina Graudina were selected. Their first time was March 13, 2018; and more recently on March 12, 2019.
 
POW-WOW: USC pairs have won the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Week award 16 times since its inception in 2016. Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina won the program's first award of 2019 (March 5) and were chosen again on March 26 for their third honor as a duo. In between, first-time winners Haley Hallgren and Alexandra Poletto were selected on March 12. 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; chosen from the No. 3 position as juniors on March 8, 2016.
 
USC HOSTS 2019 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP: The sand at Merle Norman Stadium will play host to the 2019 Pac-12 Championship from April 25-27. The Trojans also hosted the inaugural league tournament at the stadium in 2016 and won the first of its back-to-back conference crowns. Arizona hosted the 2017 tournament and Stanford played host to the tourney in 2018. For more information on the championship, please visit Pac-12.com/beach-volleyball.