No. 1 USC Beach Volleyball Returns Home on 12-Dual Win Streak - USC Athletics (2024)

The Women of Troy have also won 22 consecutive duals on home sand at Merle Norman Stadium

Women's Beach Volleyball | March 17, 2024

LOS ANGELES –The No. 1-ranked USC beach volleyball team (16-2) brings home a 12-dual win streak as the Trojans host Concordia (13-4) and 13th-ranked Hawai'i (8-7) at Merle Norman Stadium on Tuesday, March 19. While the 12-match streak equals the seventh-longest string in program history (2019 and 2021), the Trojans are 87-11 at MNS and are on a 22-match home win streak. The Rainbow Wahine and the Golden Eagles open the day with a dual at 10 a.m. PT. USC takes on CUI at 12:30 p.m. and then closes the three-dual day with a matchup against UH at 2:30 p.m. All three duals will be shown live on the USC live stream platform.

THIS WEEK
Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif.
WATCH LIVE: USC Live Stream

MATCH #19 • Tuesday, March 19 • 12:30 p.m. PT
No. 1 USC (16-2) vs. Concordia (13-4)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 4-0 (1.000)
STREAK: Won 4 • LAST 10: 4-0
LAST MEETING: W 5-0 (March 1, 2024 • MNS)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: CUIGoldenEagles.com

MATCH #20 • Tuesday, March 19 • 2:30 p.m. PT
No. 1 USC (16-2) vs. No. 13 Hawai'i (8-7)
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 16-3 (.842)
STREAK: Won 4 • LAST 10: 8-2
LAST MEETING: W 5-0 (Feb. 23, 2024 • Honolulu, Hawai'i)
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 121-17 (.877) under fifth-year head coach Dain Blanton.
• The Trojans are ranked No. 1 in the AVCA poll (No. 1, CBVB). It is the 104th time (of 104) USC is ranked by the AVCA; its 103rd time among the top 5. The Trojans have also held the No. 1 spot a record 44 times.
• The Women of Troy are 142-16 when ranked No. 1 in the AVCA poll.
• USC's current 12-dual win streak matches the seventh-longest string in program history. In 2023, the Trojans won 14 consecutive duals, which ranks fifth all-time among the longest win streaks by the Women of Troy.
• USC holds an 87-11 (.906) all-time record at Merle Norman Stadium and has won a school-record 22 consecutive duals at home.
• Three different USC pairs have eclipsed the double-digit win mark this season: Kraft-Maple (17-1), Kriz-Seits (13-1), and Nourse-Nourse (13-4). Individually, 11 different Trojans have reached double-digit wins through 18 duals.
• Twin graduates Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse rank second among pairs in school history with 104 total wins. The sisters have played 124 matches together, which also ranks second in program history. Their 100-plus wins in dual matches are the most by any USC pair in school history.
• The Trojans' senior All-Americans Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple are 45-4 all-time and have lost a total of only 11 sets in their 49 matches together.
• USC has celebrated 15 AVCA All-Americans (30 certificates).

LAST TIME OUT:The Women of Troy extended their win streak to 12 duals with four wins in the FAU Beach Invitational in Pompano Beach. USC collected 4-1 wins over Palm Beach Atlantic and No. 5-ranked TCU and earned sweeps of No. 16 Florida Atlantic and No. 12 Florida International to match the seventh-longest win streak in school history. All-AmericansMegan KraftandDelaynie Maplewent 4-0 at the top court to improve to 17-1 and helped the Trojans to their 10th 5-0 sweep (148th all-time) and improve to 142-16 in duals when USC is ranked No. 1 by the AVCA.

ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS:In a 5-0 sweep of Concordia (March 1),Delaynie MapleandNicole Nourseeach collected their 100th-career victories to move into 12th and 13th respectively in the Trojans' all-time records. One week later, in a 5-0 win over Utah,Audrey NourseandMegan Krafteach reached 100-career wins to become the 14th and 15th Trojans to join the century club. Previously, the last two Women of Troy to reach the 100-win club were All-AmericansTina Graudina(122 wins) andSammy Slater(118 wins), both in 2022.

DOUBLE CLUTCH:USC's twin-sister duo ofAudrey NourseandNicole Noursehas won104matches. The twins are104-20all-time and are20-3when their match has clinched the outcome of a dual. More specifically, when the score is tied, 2-2, and the twins are playing to decide the victor, Audrey and Nicole are3-2, which includes a big three-set win in the final match of the 2023 NCAA Championship dual to give USC its third consecutive national championship. The twins'104wins in dual matches is the most by a USC pair. Including wins collected in pairs' tournaments, All-AmericansKelly Claes (Cheng)andSara Hugheshold the school record with a 147-4 mark in their career at Troy but were 99-4 in dual competitions (48-0 in tournaments).

CENTURY CITY:While four USC mainstays have already reached the 100-win mark in their careers this spring, two graduate transfers are on the verge of crossing the 100-win plateau as well.Ainsley Radellhas a career-record of92-35with 82 wins as a member of the California Golden Bears.Maddi Krizis89-49in her career with 73 wins while playing for the Stanford Cardinal. Both are now pursuing master's degrees at USC.

DOUBLE-DIGIT WIDGET:Three USC pairs have earned double-digit wins this season. At the No. 1 position, All-American seniorsMegan KraftandDelaynie Mapleare17-1to lead all duos. Twin graduate sistersAudrey NourseandNicole Nourseare 13-4 at the No. 2 position. The Trojans' graduate tandem ofMaddi KrizandGrace Seitsis13-1overall with a 12-1 mark at the No. 3 spot. In addition to these six players, five other Trojans have collected double-digit wins individually including freshmanAshley Pater(11-2), graduateAinsley Radell(10-5), sophom*oreMadison White(16-2), freshmanMadison Goellner(10-0), and sophom*oreGabby Walker(11-2).

QUEEN'S OF THE COURT:Trojan pairs are 17-1 at two different positions in the lineup. While All-AmericansMegan KraftandDelaynie Mapleare 17-1 at the top position, a combination of four different duos makes for a 17-1 record at court three. Six different pairings have produced a 16-2 mark at the No. 4 position. USC is 14-4 at court two and 12-6 at court five.

KNOCKOUT PUNCH:In USC's16victories, graduatesMaddi KrizandGrace Seitshave delivered the clinching point a team-high four times; all from the No. 3 position. Three times, the clinching point has come from the No. 1 position where senior All-AmericansMegan KraftandDelaynie Maplehave held court all season. GraduateAinsley Radelland freshmanAshley Paterhave teamed to clinch the win for the Women of Troy twice, both times from court five.

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 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).

POLL POSITION:USC opened the 2024 season rankedNo. 1in the AVCA Collegiate Beach preseason poll. The Women of Troy have been ranked inevery AVCA pollfor a total of104 weeks. USC has also been ranked in the top five of the poll103times. The Trojans held that top-five distinction for 63 consecutive weeks from its inception until March 2, 2020. USC first seized the No. 1 ranking in both the AVCA and Volleyball Magazine polls on March 23, 2015, following a victory over then No. 1-ranked Hawai'i on the road and held the ranking for the rest of 2015. USC has been rankedNo. 1 in 44AVCA polls, the most all-time. The Trojans, Pepperdine, Hawai'i, UCLA, LSU, Florida State, and TCU are theonly seven teamsever to hold the top spot in the poll. USC is142-16 all-timewhen ranked No. 1.

SANDCASTLE:The Trojans are87-11 (.906)at Merle Norman Stadium since it opened in 2013. The Trojans won19 straighthome matches between 2014 and 2016; and went 10-0 in 2015 and 8-0 in 2014 on MNS sand. Only five teams have ever come to Merle Norman Stadium and beaten the Women of Troy: Pepperdine (3), UCLA (3), Florida State (3), Long Beach State (1) and LSU (1). USC set a new school record for consecutive home wins on March 1 and is currently on a22-dualhome win streak.