2021 Usc Beach Volleyball
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2 0 2 1 U S C B EACH V OLLEY B ALL 2016 & 2017 NCAA Champions • 2015 AVCA Champions • 4 Pairs National Champions: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 3-Time Pac-12 Champions • 11 AVCA All-Americans • 20 AVCA All-America Awards For release: February 24, 2021 University of Southern California Sports Information • 3501 Watt Way • HER103 • Los Angeles, Calif. • (213) 740-8480 • Fax: (213) 740-7584 Assistant Director: Jeremy Wu • Office: (213) 740-3807 • Cell: (213) 379-3977 • E-mail: [email protected] No. 4 USC Hosts No. 10 Pepperdine to Open 2021 Season 2021 SCHEDULE AND RESULTS MATCH #1 • Thursday, Feb. 25 • 11 a.m. PT 0-0 OVERALL MATCH #2 • Thursday, Feb. 25 • 1 p.m. PT 0-0 HOME • 0-0 AWAY • 0-0 NEUTRAL AVCA POLL: No. 4 • CBVB POLL: No. 1 No. 4 USC (0-0) vs. No. 10 Pepperdine (0-0) Merle Norman Stadium • Los Angeles, Calif. FEBRUARY 25 No. 10 Pepperdine 11 a.m. SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 15-13 (.536) No. 10 Pepperdine 1 p.m. STREAK: Won 3 • LAST 10: 5-5 LAST MEETING: W 4-1 (March 11, 2020 • Merle Norman) MARCH OPPONENT WEBSITE: PepperdineWaves.com 4 Cal Poly 12:15 p.m. UCLA 2:30 p.m. BARE E-SAND-SHELLS 7 vs. Long Beach State 1 12 p.m. • USC owns three beach volleyball national championships includ- at Pepperdine 1 2 p.m. 13 Long Beach State 12:15 p.m. ing the first-ever NCAA title in 2016 (AVCA, 2015). Loyola Marymount 2:30 p.m. • The Trojans have won three Pac-12 crowns (2016, ‘17, ‘19). 18 CSU Bakersfield 12 p.m. • Second-year head coach Dain Blanton took the helm for the de- 21 at Pepperdine 2 p.m. fending Pac-12 champions following the retirement of two-time 27 vs. Oregon 2 (P12N) 12:45 p.m. AVCA National Coach of the Year Anna Collier in July 2019. vs. Utah 2 (P12N) 7 p.m. • USC opens the 2021 season ranked No. 4 in the AVCA Coaches Preseason Poll. It 28 vs. Washington 2 (P12N) 12:45 p.m. is the 65th time (of 65 polls) that the Trojans are ranked. vs. UCLA 2 (P12N) 5:45 p.m. • USC players have received AVCA All-America notice 20 times. The Trojans return All-American Sr. Sammy Slater and All-American Jr. Tina Graudina following a APRIL hiatus season during which she qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games. 3 Florida State 11 a.m. • It will have been 350 days since the Women of Troy last played a dual match Florida State 1 p.m. following the suspension and cancellation of the 2020 season due to COVID-19. 4 Louisiana State 11 a.m. Louisiana State 1 p.m. 10 vs. California 3 8 a.m. LOS ANGELES – The fourth-ranked USC beach volleyball team will play its first duals vs. Arizona 3 (P12N) 11 a.m. in 350 days when the Women of Troy (0-0) open the 2021 season with two matches 11 at Stanford 3 (P12N) 1 p.m. against Pepperdine (0-0) at Merle Norman Stadium on Thursday, Feb. 25. vs. Arizona State 3 2 p.m. 16 Center of Effort Challenge 4 TBD The last time the Trojans played on their home sand was March 11, 2020, before 17 Center of Effort Challenge 4 TBD the COVID-19 world pandemic forced the pause and eventual cancellation of 29 Pac-12 Championship Day 1 * (P12N) TBD NCAA championship sports. USC also faced Pepperdine that day and claimed a 30 Pac-12 Championship Day 2 * (P12N) TBD 4-1 victory over its longest-standing rival. MAY 1 Pac-12 Championship Day 3 * (P12N) TBD This USC roster looks quite different from it did one season ago. The Trojans welcome 2 Pac-12 Championship Day 4 * (P12N) TBD back a familiar face in two-time AVCA All-American and the 2019 DiG Magazine National Player of the Year Tina Graudina. Graudina spent the 2020 season away 7 NCAA Championship ^ (ESPN) TBD from the team to prepare for the Olympic Games after she qualified to represent 8 NCAA Championship ^ (ESPN) TBD her native Latvia. The Women of Troy also welcome graduate transfers Julia Scoles 9 NCAA Championship ^ (ESPN) TBD and Bo Chulo and bring in a six-athlete freshman class. All times PST unless otherwise noted USC returns junior All-American Sammy Slater and senior Haley Hallgren. Graduates Bold indicates home match at Merle Norman Stadium Hailey Harward and Joy Dennis also return to the sand after the COVID stoppage. 1 Pepperdine Invite • Zuma Beach • Malibu, Calif. 2 Pac-12 South Invitational • Bear Down Beach • Tucson, Ariz. Head coach Dain Blanton guides the defending Pac-12 champion Trojans and 3 Pac-12 North Invitational • Beach VB Stadium • Stanford, Calif. looks improve on the team’s 6-5 mark from a season ago. 4 Center of Effort Challenge • Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex • San Luis Obispo, Calif. * Pac-12 Championship • Mapes Beach • Los Angeles, Calif. ^ NCAA Championship • Gulf Shores Beach • Gulf Shores, Ala. ANTICIPATED USC LINEUP PAIRING RECORD ALL-TIME STREAK No. 1 :: Tina GRAUDINA/Sammy SLATER 0-0 0-0 -- No. 2 :: Hailey HARWARD/Julia SCOLES 0-0 0-0 -- No. 3 :: Haley HALLGREN/Megan KRAFT 0-0 0-0 -- @USCBeach No. 4 :: Joy DENNIS/Delaynie MAPLE 0-0 0-0 -- No. 5 :: Audrey NOURSE/Nicole NOURSE 0-0 9-2 W8 2021 USC WOMEN OF TROY ## NAME HEIGHT YEAR HOMETOWN (PREVIOUS SCHOOL) 1 Harper HALLGREN 5-11 So. Southlake, Texas (Carroll HS) 3 Maja KAISER 6-0 Sr. Bulverde, Texas (Smithson Valley HS) 4 Sammy SLATER 5-10 Sr. Ventura, Calif. (Ventura HS) 5 Paige DREEUWS 5-9 Sr. San Marcos, Calif. (San Marcos HS/Hawai’i) 11 Joy DENNIS 6-0 Gr. Cypress, Calif. (Keystone Academy) 12 Haley HALLGREN 6-1 Sr. Southlake, Texas (Carroll HS) 13 Hailey HARWARD 5-9 Gr. Phoenix, Ariz. (Desert Vista HS) 14 Tina GRAUDINA 6-0 Jr. Jurmala, Latvia 15 Lauren HARRISON 5-8 Fr. Menlo Park, Calif. (Notre Dame HS) 20 Josannah VAZQUEZ 5-10 Sr. Mansfield, Texas (Lake Ridge HS/Long Beach CC) 21 Olivia BAKOS 5-9 Fr. Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Mira Costa HS) 22 Megan KRAFT 6-0 Fr. San Diego, Calif. (Torrey Pines HS) 23 Delaynie MAPLE 5-10 Fr. San Diego, Calif. (Torrey Pines HS) 24 Audrey NOURSE 5-11 So. Newport Beach, Calif. (Orange Lutheran HS) 25 Julia SCOLES 6-1 Gr. Mooresville, N.C. (South Iredell HS/Hawai’i) 30 Mollie EBERTIN 6-1 Jr. Saratoga, Calif. (Saint Francis HS) 31 Bo CHULO 6-2 Gr. Bjelovar, Croatia (Architecture Tech Zagreb/LMU) 33 Caitlin CUMMINGS 6-1 Fr. Pacifica, Calif. (Lick-Wilmerding HS) 40 Hallie CARBALLO 5-2 Fr. Laguna Beach, Calif. (Laguna Beach HS) 42 Nicole NOURSE 5-11 So. Newport Beach, Calif. (Orange Lutheran HS) HEAD COACH Dain BLANTON (2nd year), Pepperdine ‘94 ASSISTANT COACH Gustavo ROCHA (4th year), Park ‘06 VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT COACH Laurel WEAVER (2nd year), Hawai’i ‘18 USC HEAD COACH DAIN BLANTON PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Dain Blanton, an Olympic gold-medalist, is in his second season as Olivia BAKOS BAKE-ohs USC’s head coach (2021) and has a 6-5 overall record. He was the Hallie CARBALLO HAL-ee car-BALL-oh volunteer assistant coach at USC for four seasons (2015-18) when the Bo CHULO CHEW-low Trojans won the 2015 AVCA championship and the 2016 and 2017 Paige DREEUWS sounds like “blues” NCAA championships. USC also captured back-to-back (2016-17) Mollie EBERTIN EEE-ber-tin Pac-12 titles with Blanton on staff. Tina GRAUDINA gr-ow-DEE-nah Haley HALLGREN HAY-lee Blanton helped USC produce eight AVCA All-Americans and Hailey HARWARD HAY-lee coached USC’s top pair of Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes to the 2015 Maja KAISER MY-uhh AVCA Pairs Championship and the 2017 USAV Collegiate Pairs crown. Audrey/Nicole NOURSE NORSE The duo also won back-to-back Pac-12 titles in 2016 and 2017. Josannah VAZQUEZ hose-ANNA VASS-kez In 2019, Blanton was a color analyst and sideline reporter for ESPN and the Olympic Channel. Gustavo ROCHA goo-STAH-voh ROW-kah He has had a distinguished career as a sports broadcaster, covering NBA basketball, Major League Baseball, college basketball, football, and beach volleyball for networks including ESPN, NBC, ABC, FOX Sports Net, Universal Sports Network, Pac-12 Networks, Olympic Channel, and Amazon Prime. He covered beach volleyball for NBC at the 2016 Olympics. THE BLANTON FILE Blanton was the first two-time U.S. male beach volleyball Olympian. He andEric Fonoimoana VITALS won gold at the 2000 Sydney Games as the ninth seed. He then partnered with Jeff Nygaard • 6-5 overall record at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. ALMA MATER Blanton has won an NCAA title, Olympic gold, and multiple pro crowns. At Pepperdine • Pepperdine, 1994 (Public Relations) (1991-94), he won the 1992 NCAA title as a sophomore and received All-America honorable • 1992 NCAA men’s volleyball champion mention in 1994. Blanton won 11 beach tournaments, including nine AVP championships • 1994 All-America honorable mention and two FIVB titles. In 2003, he and Nygaard were the AVP Team of the Year and Blanton was the AVP’s Best Offensive Player. He was the first male African-American to win a major HONORS & AWARDS beach volleyball event when he won the 1997 AVP Hermosa Grand Slam. He and Kent • 2015 AVCA Championship, USC Steffes won bronze medals at the 1997 Beach Volleyball World Championships. • 2016 NCAA Championship, USC • 2017 NCAA Championship, USC Blanton was the 1990 Orange County Boys’ Volleyball Player of the Year at Laguna Beach (Calif.) High, where he was also an All-State basketball player.