Cheng-Hughes, Graudina, and Benesh Advance to Olympic Beach Volleyball Knockout Rounds

PARIS, France – USC beach volleyball All-Americans Sara Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif./Mater Dei HS) and Kelly Cheng (Fullerton, Calif./El Dorado HS), Tina Graudina (Jurmala, Latvia) and men's volleyball alum Andy Benesh (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) have each advanced to the knockout rounds of the Olympic beach volleyball tournament.

Co-coached by USC associate head coach Gustavo Rocha and one of two U.S. women's pairs, Cheng-Hughes went 3-0 and didn't drop a set to finish atop Group C in pool play. The duo defeated the Czech pair of Barbora Hermannová and Marie-Sára Štochlová, 21-16, 21-11, to open their run at Eiffel Tower Stadium. Cheng and Hughes improved to 2-0 with a 21-16, 23-21 win over France's Aline Chamereau and Clémence Vieira. Cheng-Hughes topped off pool play by defeating Germany's Svenja Müller and Cinja Tillmann, 21-18, 21-18.

Up next, Cheng and Hughes will take on the world's 12th-ranked pair of Valentina Gottardi and Marta Menegatti of Italy in the round of 16 on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 1 p.m. PT.

Graudina and partner Anastasija Samoilova went 2-1 to finish second in Pool D. Representing Latvia, Graudina-Samoilova fell to Switzerland's Esmée Böbner and Zoé Vergé-Dépré, 21-15, 21-14, in their first match. The Latvian duo bounced back to get a 21-19, 21-15 win over Paraguay's Giuliana Poletti and Michelle Valiente; and then claimed a resounding 21-14, 22-20 win over Canada's pair of Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson—the world's eighth-ranked pair—to secure a spot in the knockout rounds.

Graudina-Samoilova will now face Müller and Tillmann in their round of 16 match on Sunday (Aug. 5) at midnight PT.

In the men's tournament, Benesh and partner Miles Partain finished 2-1 in Pool D for second place. The American duo began with a narrow straight-set loss, 21-18, 21-18, to the Cuban pair of Jorge Alayo and Noslen Diaz, but responded with a 21-12, 28-26 win over Morocco's Mohammed Abicha and Zouheir Elgraoui. In a pivotal third match, Benesh-Partain sealed their spot in the knockout rounds with a hard-fought three-set win, 21-17, 14-21, 15-8, over the world's No. 2-ranked pair of Andre Loyola and George Wanderley of Brazil.

Benesh and Partain take on the world's sixth-ranked pair of Samuele Cottafava and Paolo Nicolai on Sunday (Aug. 5) at 8 a.m. PT.

The U.S. has claimed Olympic gold medals in women's beach volleyball in four of the last five Summer Games. Three-time USC All-American and beach pro April Ross won gold with partner Alix Klineman at the 2020 Tokyo Games. She also won bronze with Kerri Walsh Jennings at the 2016 Games in Brazil and earned the silver medal with fellow Trojan All-American Jennifer Kessy at the 2012 London Games. Former USC assistant coach Misty May-Treanor won three gold medals—all with Walsh Jennings—in 2004 (Athens), 2008 (Beijing), and 2012 (London).

Pairs in the Olympic tournament played three matches in pool play for the right to advance to the single-elimination tournament. Organized into six pools with four pairs each, the six pool winners, the six runners-up, and the best two of the six third-placed teams advance directly to the round of 16. The remaining four third-placed teams played in a single-elimination "lucky-loser round", where the two winners completed the 16 teams that will play down a single-elimination bracket.

The Women of Troy won an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA championship in 2024 to up the program's total to seven all-time national titles. Top-ranked USC finished the season 37-5 overall and went 4-0 at the championship with an incredible 12-0 mark in individual court play. It was the 136th national title won by a USC team and the school's 113th NCAA team championship. USC became the first women's team in school history to win four consecutive national titles and brought home the 38th women's national championship; the 28th NCAA crown won by the Women of Troy. Fifth-year head coach and AVCA National Coach of the Year Dain Blanton improved to 17-0 in NCAA duals and improved to 4-for-4 in national championship appearances.

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.

University Southern California Trojans

Cheng-Hughes, Graudina, and Benesh Advance to Olympic Beach Volleyball Knockout Rounds

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