Top-Seeded USC Beach Volleyball Set to Defend NCAA Titles on Gulf Shores Sand
April 28, 2024 | Women's Beach Volleyball
The Trojans take aim at an unprecedented fourth consecutive NCAA championship this week
LOS ANGELES – The three-time defending NCAA champion USC beach volleyball team (33-5) earned the top seed among 17 teams competing in the 2024 NCAA Championship and will face either Atlantic Sun champion North Florida (24-11) or Ohio Valley champion Chattanooga (19-9) in the round of 16, the NCAA announced on Sunday, April 28.
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The Women of Troy are scheduled to play in the round of 16 at 11 a.m. CT (9 a.m. PT). All opening- and first-round matches are scheduled to be shown live on ESPNU. Quarterfinals and semifinals (May 4) will be carried live by ESPN2. The championship dual is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT on Sunday (May 5) and will also be shown live on ESPN2.
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The Trojans—fresh off winning their fifth conference title—received the Pac-12's automatic berth into the tournament field. It is the fourth time USC has been assigned the top seed in the national tournament. The Trojans were also seeded No. 1 in 2017 and 2022 when they won championships and in 2019 when USC finished as the national runner-up. USC has played in every NCAA tournament and has also held the No. 2 seed (2016, 2021), the No. 3 seed (2023), and the No. 5 seed (2018).
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USC has won five NCAA titles including the first-ever championship awarded in 2016. The Trojans also won in 2017 to become the first-ever back-to-back NCAA champion and have won the last three (2021-23) to become first team ever to win three in a row. The Women of Troy are 27-4 all-time in NCAA duals with a 13-0 mark under fifth-year head coach Dain Blanton. Including Pac-12 tournament and AVCA championship duals, USC is 62-15 in all postseason duals with a 26-5 record under Blanton. USC also won the final AVCA Collegiate Beach Championship in 2015 with a 28-0 record.
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The Trojans are 2-0 against North Florida and played the Ospreys on the same date (May 3) in 2013 at the AVCA championship in Gulf Shores. USC also met UNF for a dual in Miami in 2023 (March 18). A meeting between USC and Chattanooga would be the first for the Trojans and the Mocs.
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A record six Pac-12 teams earned berths in the national tournament. Conference runner-up UCLA (32-6) was assigned the No. 2 seed and was followed by No. 3 Stanford (31-5). California (19-13) will make its third appearance. The four California Pac-12 schools are joined by a pair of first-time participants in 12th-seeded Arizona State (21-9) and 13th-seeded Washington (20-15).
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On the Trojans' side of the bracket, a win in the round of 16 would pit them against either eighth-seeded West Coast Conference champion Loyola Marymount (27-13) or Big West champion Hawai'i (24-11) in the quarterfinals.
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The Trojans claimed the final Pac-12 championship with USC set to depart for the Big Ten Conference in August. USC beach volleyball will move to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation at that time. It is also the final year that the beach volleyball national championship is scheduled to be contested in Gulf Shores. The championship will move to Huntington Beach, Calif., in 2025 (May 2-4) and 2026 (May 1-3) with Long Beach State and the Orange Beach Sports Commission set to serve as hosts.
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For more information, a full schedule, and links to purchase tickets, please visit NCAA.com. For more information on the USC beach volleyball team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/beach. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow the team on Instagram and on X @USCBeach.
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The Women of Troy are scheduled to play in the round of 16 at 11 a.m. CT (9 a.m. PT). All opening- and first-round matches are scheduled to be shown live on ESPNU. Quarterfinals and semifinals (May 4) will be carried live by ESPN2. The championship dual is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT on Sunday (May 5) and will also be shown live on ESPN2.
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The Trojans—fresh off winning their fifth conference title—received the Pac-12's automatic berth into the tournament field. It is the fourth time USC has been assigned the top seed in the national tournament. The Trojans were also seeded No. 1 in 2017 and 2022 when they won championships and in 2019 when USC finished as the national runner-up. USC has played in every NCAA tournament and has also held the No. 2 seed (2016, 2021), the No. 3 seed (2023), and the No. 5 seed (2018).
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USC has won five NCAA titles including the first-ever championship awarded in 2016. The Trojans also won in 2017 to become the first-ever back-to-back NCAA champion and have won the last three (2021-23) to become first team ever to win three in a row. The Women of Troy are 27-4 all-time in NCAA duals with a 13-0 mark under fifth-year head coach Dain Blanton. Including Pac-12 tournament and AVCA championship duals, USC is 62-15 in all postseason duals with a 26-5 record under Blanton. USC also won the final AVCA Collegiate Beach Championship in 2015 with a 28-0 record.
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The Trojans are 2-0 against North Florida and played the Ospreys on the same date (May 3) in 2013 at the AVCA championship in Gulf Shores. USC also met UNF for a dual in Miami in 2023 (March 18). A meeting between USC and Chattanooga would be the first for the Trojans and the Mocs.
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A record six Pac-12 teams earned berths in the national tournament. Conference runner-up UCLA (32-6) was assigned the No. 2 seed and was followed by No. 3 Stanford (31-5). California (19-13) will make its third appearance. The four California Pac-12 schools are joined by a pair of first-time participants in 12th-seeded Arizona State (21-9) and 13th-seeded Washington (20-15).
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On the Trojans' side of the bracket, a win in the round of 16 would pit them against either eighth-seeded West Coast Conference champion Loyola Marymount (27-13) or Big West champion Hawai'i (24-11) in the quarterfinals.
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The Trojans claimed the final Pac-12 championship with USC set to depart for the Big Ten Conference in August. USC beach volleyball will move to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation at that time. It is also the final year that the beach volleyball national championship is scheduled to be contested in Gulf Shores. The championship will move to Huntington Beach, Calif., in 2025 (May 2-4) and 2026 (May 1-3) with Long Beach State and the Orange Beach Sports Commission set to serve as hosts.
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For more information, a full schedule, and links to purchase tickets, please visit NCAA.com. For more information on the USC beach volleyball team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/beach. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow the team on Instagram and on X @USCBeach.
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