No. 5 USC Beach Volleyball Prepares For NCAA Championships

Friday, May 1

Gulf Shores, Ala.

7 a.m. PT

USC

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi

Ashley Pater digs a ball up against UCLA

No. 5 USC Beach Volleyball Prepares For NCAA Championships

April 30, 2026 | Women's Beach Volleyball

The Women of Troy will take on Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the Round of 16.

GULF SHORES, Ala. – No. 5 USC Beach Volleyball heads into the NCAA Championships as the fourth seed, taking on the 13th seed in Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Friday, May 1, at 7 a.m. PT in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The Women of Troy have won six of the last nine NCAA Championships and also won the AVCA national title to bring the total to seven. The Trojans are 32-5 in duals at the NCAA Championship. USC lost twice each in 2018 and 2019 when the tournament was a double-elimination bracket. Its second loss in 2019 was to the eventual champion UCLA in the championship dual. Under seventh-year head coach Dain Blanton, USC is 18-1 in the NCAA tournament. Last year, the Trojans went 1-1, defeating North Florida in the Round of 16 before losing to Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals.

MATCH #40: No. 5 USC vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Friday, May 1 at 7 a.m. PT
Series History: 0-0

ALL-AMERICAN STATUS
Kennedy Coakley and Zoey Henson earned AVCA Second Team All-America honors. Coakley is coming into the NCAA tournament with a 29-10 record. She went 13-9 in the top flight and 16-1 in the second flight this season. She was also named as an AVCA Player of the Year semifinalist earlier this year. Henson also had a great season, coming into this weekend with a 28-9 record. She went 14-6 in the No.1 spot and 14-3 in the No. 2 spot.

MPSF NODS
Sarah Wood highlights the accolades for USC as she earned MPSF Freshman of the Year honors while also landing on the All-MPSF First Team and All-Freshman teams. Joining her on the All-MPSF First Team were teammates Ashley Pater, Kennedy Coakley and Zoey Henson.

BEST OF THE BEST
The Women of Troy have a 28-11 record throughout the season. Of the 39 duals they have played in, only six of their opponents were not ranked in the AVCA Coaches' Poll.

WINNING WAYS
Head Coach Dain Blanton is in his seventh season leading USC. Currently, he has a 197-42 overall record.

THE BRACKET
If the Trojans defeat the Islanders in the Round of 16, they will move on to the quarterfinals and take on the winner of Florida State and Stetson on Saturday, May 2, at 8 a.m. PT. The winner of that game will move on to the semifinals, which will be played at 11 a.m. PT on Saturday. All three of these rounds will be live on ESPN2.