Defending NCAA Champion USC Beach Volleyball Opens 2024 on Hawaiian Sand

HONOLULU – The three-time defending NCAA champion and No. 1-ranked USC beach volleyball team (0-0) makes its 2024 debut with the Trojans' first trip to Hawai'i since 2018. USC will face a stacked field in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Classic with duals against No. 2 UCLA, No. 5 Loyola Marymount, No. 7 Stanford, and ninth-ranked host Hawai'i. All matches will be played on Queen's Beach.

THIS WEEK
OUTRIGGER DUKE KAHANAMOKU BEACH INVITATIONAL
Queen's Beach • Honolulu, Hawai'i

MATCH #1 • Thursday, Feb. 22 • 10:15 a.m. HT (12:15 p.m. PT)
No. 1 USC (0-0) vs. No. 2 UCLA (0-0)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 23-17 (.575)
STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10: 7-3
LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (May 7, 2023 • Gulf Shores, Ala.)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCLABruins.com

MATCH #2 • Thursday, Feb. 22 • 2 p.m. HT (4 p.m. PT)
No. 1 USC (0-0) vs. No. 7 Stanford (0-0)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 13-0 (1.000)
STREAK: Won 13 • LAST 10: 10-0
LAST MEETING: W 5-0 (March 12, 2023 • MNS)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoStanford.com

MATCH #3 • Friday, Feb. 23 • 10:15 a.m. HT (12:15 p.m. PT)
No. 1 USC (0-0) vs. No. 5 Loyola Marymount (0-0)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 27-0 (1.000)
STREAK: Won 27 • LAST 10: 10-0
LAST MEETING: W 3-1 (May 6, 2023 • Gulf Shores, Ala.)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: LMULions.com

MATCH #4 • Friday, Feb. 23 • 12:45 p.m. HT (2:45 p.m. PT)
No. 1 USC (0-0) at No. 9 Hawai'i (0-0)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 15-3 (.833)
STREAK: Won 3 • LAST 10: 8-2
LAST MEETING: W 5-0 (April 2, 2022 • Manhattan Beach)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: HawaiiAthletics.com

BARE E-SAND-SHELLS • TL;DR

USC has won the last three NCAA championships and owns six national titles including the first NCAA crown in 2016 (AVCA '15, NCAA '17, '21, '22, '23).
The Trojans have won four Pac-12 championships (2016, '17, '19, '22).
USC is 105-15 (.875) under fifth-year head coach Dain Blanton.
The Trojans are ranked No. 1 in both the AVCA and CBVB polls. It is the 101st time (of 101) USC is ranked by the AVCA; its 100th time among the top 5. The Trojans have also held the No. 1 spot a record 43 times.
USC is 23-2 all-time in the Aloha State. Both losses were to host Hawai'i and both occurred on back-to-back days in 2018, the last time the Women of Troy played a dual in the state of Hawai'i.
The Trojans are 12-0 all-time in season openers.
Twin graduates Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse are tied for second among pairs in school history with 91 total wins. The sisters have played 107 matches together, which ranks third in program history. They are currently tied with Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler (91 wins, 2014-16).
The Trojans' senior duo of Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple are 28-3 all-time and have lost a total of only eight sets in their 31 matches together.
USC has celebrated 15 AVCA All-Americans (30 certificates). Three-time All-American Megan Kraft returns to the lineup for her senior season this spring.

LAST TIME OUT: USC became the first school in collegiate beach volleyball history to win three consecutive NCAA titles by capturing the 2023 crown in Gulf Shores. The Trojans also became the first women's team in USC history to win three straight national titles; the first team regardless of gender to win as many in a row since USC men's tennis won four in a row from 2009-12. The Trojans arrived in Gulf Shores as the third-seeded team and earned 3-2 wins over No. 2 TCU and No. 1 UCLA in the semifinal and championship duals—respectively—to lift their record at the championship to 13-0 under fourth-year head coach Dain Blanton. Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse went 4-0 in the tournament and were chosen to the all-tournament team at the No. 3 position. Jenna Johnson and Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope were also named to the all-tournament team as the No. 4 pair.

THE CHAMP IS HERE: USC is the three-time defending NCAA champion ('21, '22, '23). The Trojans captured the program's fifth NCAA title and sixth national crown in 2023. USC won the final AVCA championship in 2015 and also owns the first two NCAA titles (2016, '17). The Women of Troy have also claimed four of the seven Pac-12 championships (2016, '17, '19, '22).

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Johnson

Megan Kraft

Delaynie Maple

Audrey Nourse

Nicole Nourse

Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope