University Southern California Trojans
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
/ Women's Beach Volleyball
Trojans Rack Up Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Honors
May 02, 2019 | Women's Beach Volleyball, Features
Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina were named the Pac-12 Pair of the Year and Anna Collier was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year
SAN FRANCISCO – USC senior Abril Bustamante (Redondo Beach, Calif.) and sophomore Tina Graudina (Jurmala, Latvia) were named the Pac-12 Beach Volleyball Pair of the Year, the Conference announced on Thursday, May 2. Graudina was also bestowed the honor as the league's Player of the Year.
Eighth-year head coach Anna Collier was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year and a total of seven Women of Troy were selected to various Pac-12 All-Conference teams.
Bustamante and Graudina were each chosen to the All-Pac-12 first team for the second times in their careers. The Trojans' top duo was joined on the first team by USC's No. 2 pair of senior Terese Cannon (Pittsford, N.Y.) and sophomore Sammy Slater (Ventura, Calif.). Cannon is a repeat first-team choice while Slater makes her first appearance on the first team after second-team honors as a freshman in 2018. Senior Alexandra Poletto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and sophomore Haley Hallgren (Southlake, Texas) were each chosen to the All-Pac-12 second team. Hallgren repeats as a second-team selection and Poletto gets her first-career all-league recognition. Mollie Ebertin (Saratoga, Calif.) was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. The six all-conference choices pushes USC's total to 21 all-time selections (13 first team, 8 second team) among 11 different Women of Troy.
Collier—the winningest coach in collegiate beach volleyball history—receives her first-career Pac-12 Coach of the Year award. She previously was chosen as the 2014 AVCA National Coach of the Year and was honored by DiG Magazine as its National Coach of the Year in 2017. Collier is the first and only coach to have reached the 200-career victories plateau (201-36, .889) and has led the Women of Troy to three national championships (AVCA 2015, NCAA 2016-17) and three Pac-12 crowns (2016, '17, '19).
As a pair, Bustamante and Graudina has forged its way into the program's top four for all-time victories (61-4) and hold a .938 winning percentage in just two seasons. The duo was chosen as the Pac-12 Pair of the Week twice this spring (March 5, March 26) and now represent USC's third Pac-12 Pair of the Year selection. AVCA All-Americans Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes were chosen in back-to-back seasons (2016-17) for the same honor.
Individually, Graudina has posted 61 wins in two seasons at Troy. She is the third Trojan beach volleyball player to be named the Pac-12's Player of the Year and follows Claes who was chosen in both 2016 and 2017. Bustamante has recorded 118 career victories and ranks sixth all-time in USC history.
Cannon's 110-career victories sits just one spot behind Bustamante's mark and ranks seventh in program history. Cannon teamed with Slater to take home Pac-12 Pair of the Week honors on April 16. They are 22-8 overall this season. Slater has posted 53-career wins to date. Following her transfer from the indoor game and to USC, Poletto has put up 47 wins in the cardinal and gold. She and Hallgren have played exclusively at the No. 3 position for the Trojans this spring and hold a 28-2 overall mark. Hallgren owns 55 career wins.
Ebertin is the fifth Trojan player to be named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. She has 12 wins in her first season on campus and follows Graudina and Slater who were 2018 choices; Joy Dennis (2017); and Abril Bustamante (2016).
The newly No. 1-ranked Trojans (28-4) received the No. 1 seed and are in Gulf Shores, Ala., for the program's fourth berth in the NCAA tournament. USC will face eighth-seeded Stetson (28-9) in its first match at 9 a.m. CT (7 a.m. PT) on Friday, May 3. The dual will be shown live on ESPNU with complete individual court coverage for all courts available on the WatchESPN app and ESPN3.
USC owns three national championships in collegiate beach volleyball, including the final title awarded by the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) in 2015 and each of the first two NCAA championships (2016-17). The Trojans are 17-6 all-time on Gulf Shores sand and had a 12-0 run during their three championship seasons. UCLA is currently the defending NCAA champion. Pepperdine owns two national titles (2012 and 2014 AVCA) and Long Beach State claimed the only other championship in 2013.
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, and Instagram.
Eighth-year head coach Anna Collier was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year and a total of seven Women of Troy were selected to various Pac-12 All-Conference teams.
Bustamante and Graudina were each chosen to the All-Pac-12 first team for the second times in their careers. The Trojans' top duo was joined on the first team by USC's No. 2 pair of senior Terese Cannon (Pittsford, N.Y.) and sophomore Sammy Slater (Ventura, Calif.). Cannon is a repeat first-team choice while Slater makes her first appearance on the first team after second-team honors as a freshman in 2018. Senior Alexandra Poletto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and sophomore Haley Hallgren (Southlake, Texas) were each chosen to the All-Pac-12 second team. Hallgren repeats as a second-team selection and Poletto gets her first-career all-league recognition. Mollie Ebertin (Saratoga, Calif.) was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. The six all-conference choices pushes USC's total to 21 all-time selections (13 first team, 8 second team) among 11 different Women of Troy.
Collier—the winningest coach in collegiate beach volleyball history—receives her first-career Pac-12 Coach of the Year award. She previously was chosen as the 2014 AVCA National Coach of the Year and was honored by DiG Magazine as its National Coach of the Year in 2017. Collier is the first and only coach to have reached the 200-career victories plateau (201-36, .889) and has led the Women of Troy to three national championships (AVCA 2015, NCAA 2016-17) and three Pac-12 crowns (2016, '17, '19).
As a pair, Bustamante and Graudina has forged its way into the program's top four for all-time victories (61-4) and hold a .938 winning percentage in just two seasons. The duo was chosen as the Pac-12 Pair of the Week twice this spring (March 5, March 26) and now represent USC's third Pac-12 Pair of the Year selection. AVCA All-Americans Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes were chosen in back-to-back seasons (2016-17) for the same honor.
Individually, Graudina has posted 61 wins in two seasons at Troy. She is the third Trojan beach volleyball player to be named the Pac-12's Player of the Year and follows Claes who was chosen in both 2016 and 2017. Bustamante has recorded 118 career victories and ranks sixth all-time in USC history.
Cannon's 110-career victories sits just one spot behind Bustamante's mark and ranks seventh in program history. Cannon teamed with Slater to take home Pac-12 Pair of the Week honors on April 16. They are 22-8 overall this season. Slater has posted 53-career wins to date. Following her transfer from the indoor game and to USC, Poletto has put up 47 wins in the cardinal and gold. She and Hallgren have played exclusively at the No. 3 position for the Trojans this spring and hold a 28-2 overall mark. Hallgren owns 55 career wins.
Ebertin is the fifth Trojan player to be named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. She has 12 wins in her first season on campus and follows Graudina and Slater who were 2018 choices; Joy Dennis (2017); and Abril Bustamante (2016).
The newly No. 1-ranked Trojans (28-4) received the No. 1 seed and are in Gulf Shores, Ala., for the program's fourth berth in the NCAA tournament. USC will face eighth-seeded Stetson (28-9) in its first match at 9 a.m. CT (7 a.m. PT) on Friday, May 3. The dual will be shown live on ESPNU with complete individual court coverage for all courts available on the WatchESPN app and ESPN3.
USC owns three national championships in collegiate beach volleyball, including the final title awarded by the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) in 2015 and each of the first two NCAA championships (2016-17). The Trojans are 17-6 all-time on Gulf Shores sand and had a 12-0 run during their three championship seasons. UCLA is currently the defending NCAA champion. Pepperdine owns two national titles (2012 and 2014 AVCA) and Long Beach State claimed the only other championship in 2013.
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, and Instagram.
Monday, May 04
Saturday, May 03
Friday, May 02
Monday, April 14
