Four USC Beach Pairs Earn AVCA Top Flight Status

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this news release did not include Ainsley Radell and Mabyn Thomas, award winners at the No. 5 position.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – USC beach volleyball had three pairs chosen for the AVCA's Top Flight Award on Thursday, May 2.

Graduate twins Audrey Nourse (Newport Beach, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) and Nicole Nourse (Newport Beach, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS) became the first Trojan duo to be chosen for Top Flight honors at two different flights in the same season; at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. They also earned Top Flight status in 2022 at No. 4 and in 2021 at No. 5.

Senior All-Americans Megan Kraft (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) and Delaynie Maple (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) were selected at the No. 1 position. Graduates Maddi Kriz (Austin, Texas/Round Rock Westwood HS) and Grace Seits (Ramona, Calif./Ramona HS) were chosen at the No. 3 position. Graduate Ainsley Radell (Moraga, Calif./Monte Vista HS) and Mabyn Thomas (Southlake, Texas/Carroll HS) were selected at the No. 5 position.

Nourse and Nourse each earned their third-career Top Flight awards. The twins were among award winners at the No. 5 court as sophomores in 2021 and earned the same honor from the No. 4 position as juniors in 2022. The sisters are 29-7 this season and each crossed the 100-win plateau early in the spring. As a pair, they rank second all-time in USC history with a 120-23 record. The sisters were also each honored as members of the Pac-12's All-Conference second team; their first-career all-league awards. Specifically, the pair is 16-4 at the No. 2 position and 13-3 when playing at the No. 3 court.

As a duo, Kraft-Maple lead all Trojan duos with a 33-4 record in 2024. They are 61-7 all-time—sixth all-time in school history—and have dropped just 21 sets through 68 matches played together. This week, Kraft was named the Pac-12's Pair of the Year for a second time and collected her fourth consecutive Pac-12 Pair of the Year honor. She and Maple are the back-to-back reigning Pac-12 Pair of the Year. They were each also chosen for All-America honors—Kraft's fourth-career distinction. Kraft herself received the AVCA's first-ever National Player of the Year award.

Kriz and Seits paired for much of the first half of the season and produced a 14-1 mark at the No. 3 position. Combined, they are 20-4 overall. Indidually, Kriz is 27-7 on the season and secured her 100th-career win last week at the Pac-12 Championship. Seits is 29-5 overall. Radell-Thomas were 12-3 at the No. 5 position this season. Overall, Radell is 17-7 and Thomas is 21-6 as individuals.

The Top Flight awards program is designed to recognize excellence in collegiate beach volleyball from all over the country and across all flights. The nature of beach volleyball dictates that each player fills an important role on the team. Each pair must give their greatest effort to help the squad clinch the three wins necessary to defeat an opponent. It takes all 10 athletes performing at a high level to achieve greatness. With this in mind, the AVCA created this award to reward the hard work and consistent play of pairs at each flight. In order for a pair to be eligible for the award, two athletes must compete in at least 15 matches together and at a specific flight number. Should that pair win at least 75% of its matches—regardless of the overall result of the dual—those athletes achieve Top Flight status.

No. 1-ranked USC (33-5) earned the top seed in the upcoming NCAA championship and will begin defense of its three consecutive national titles on Friday (May 3) with a round of 16 match-up against either Atlantic Sun champion North Florida (24-11) or Ohio Valley champion Chattanooga (19-9). All duals at the championship will be shown live by ESPNU and ESPN2.

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.

Players Mentioned

Megan Kraft

Maddi Kriz

Delaynie Maple

Audrey Nourse

Nicole Nourse

Ainsley Radell

Grace Seits

Mabyn Thomas