2021 TROJAN BEACH VOLLEYBALL ALMANAC AND RECORD BOOK TABLE OF CONTENTS & CREDITS VITAL INFORMATION PROGRAM HISTORY Individual Annual Records 29-33 Quick Facts 1 Year-by-Year Annual Results 6-10 Individual Career Records 34-35 Credits 1 Annual Record 11 All-Time Roster and Coaches 36 2020 Team Roster 2 Superlatives and Streaks 12-13 All-Time Jersey Numbers 37 2020 Schedule 3 Polls and Rankings 14 Honors and Awards 38-39 Merle Norman Stadium 4 Postseason Records 15-19 Pro Trojans and Olympians 40-42 Broadcast Roster 5 Pairs Records 20-21 Individual Records 22-23 Positional Records 24 Opponent Series Records 25-27 Opponent Series Superlatives 28 @USCBeach 2021 USC QUICK FACTS UNIVERSITY INFORMATION USC BEACH VOLLEYBALL HISTORY LOCATION Los Angeles, Calif. INAUGURAL SEASON * 2012 FOUNDED 1880 FIRST HEAD COACH Anna Collier ENROLLMENT 46,000 total; 19,500 undergraduates ALL-TIME RECORD 211-43 (.831) CAMPUS SIZE 226 acres RECORD AT MERLE NORMAN STADIUM 57-9 (.864) PRESIDENT Dr. Carol L. Folt ALL-TIME AVCA POSTSEASON RECORD 7-4 (.636) DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS’ CHAIR Mike Bohn ALL-TIME NCAA POSTSEASON RECORD 14-4 (.778) SENIOR WOMAN ADMINISTRATOR Joyce Bell TEAM CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS 3 (2016-17, ‘19) NATIONAL AFFILIATION NCAA Division I PAIRS CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS 2 (2016-17) CONFERENCE AFFILIATION Pac-12 TEAM NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 3 (2015-17) NICKNAME Trojans / Women of Troy PAIRS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 4 (2013-15, ‘17) FIGHT SONG Fight On! AVCA TEAM APPEARANCES 3 COLORS Cardinal and Gold NCAA TEAM APPEARANCES 4 MASCOT Traveler AVCA ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS 20 (11 players) HOME COURT (CAPACITY) Merle Norman Stadium (500) * First season beach volleyball scholarships awarded at USC BEACH VOLLEYBALL STAFF 2020 SEASON REVIEW HEAD COACH Dain Blanton (2nd year) OVERALL RECORD 6-5 (shortened due to COVID-19 pandemic) ALMA MATER Pepperdine, ‘94 HOME RECORD 2-1 BLANTON’S RECORD AT USC 6-5 (.545) AWAY RECORD 0-1 BLANTON’S CAREER RECORD 6-5 (.545) NEUTRAL SITE RECORD 4-3 ASSISTANT COACH Gustavo Rocha (4th year) FINAL AVCA RANKING No. 6 (suspended March 9) VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT COACH Laurel Weaver (2nd year) POSTSEASON FINISH N/A OFFICE PHONE (213) 740-0855 LAST OPPONENT March 11, 2020: vs. #2 UCLA (L 3-2) ATHLETIC TRAINER Lauren Crawford TRAINING ROOM PHONE (213) 740-0891 2021 TEAM INFORMATION SPORTS INFORMATION LETTERWINNERS RETURNING/LOST 12 / 5 DIRECTOR Tim Tessalone STARTERS RETURNING/LOST 8 / 2 MAILING ADDRESS 3501 Watt Way NEWCOMERS 8 Heritage Hall CLASS BREAKDOWN 4 Gr. / 5 Sr. / 2 Jr. / 3 So. / 6 Fr. Brittingham Family Media Wing Los Angeles, CA 90089 OFFICE PHONE (213) 740-8480 BEACH VOLLEYBALL CONTACT Jeremy Wu The 2021 USC beach volleyball almanac and record book was OFFICE PHONE (213) 740-3807 written, compiled, designed, and published by Jeremy Wu, Assis- OFFICE FAX (213) 740-7584 tant Director of Sports Information. Additional research, data com- MOBILE PHONE (213) 379-3977 pilation, and analysis was provided by student assistant Benjamin E-MAIL ADDRESS [email protected] Borovinsky. This document is available for download at USCTrojans. TICKET OFFICE (213) 740-GOSC com as a PDF. WEBSITE www.USCTrojans.com/beach INSTAGRAM/TWITTER/FACEBOOK @USCBeach 1 2021 USC BEACH VOLLEYBALL 2021 WOMEN OF TROY ## NAME HEIGHT YEAR EXP. HOMETOWN (PREVIOUS SCHOOL) 1 Harper HALLGREN 5-11 So. 1V Southlake, Texas (Carroll HS) 3 Maja KAISER 6-0 Sr. 3V Bulverde, Texas (Smithson Valley HS) 4 Sammy SLATER 5-10 Sr. 3V Ventura, Calif. (Ventura HS) 5 Paige DREEUWS 5-9 Sr. 1V San Marcos, Calif. (San Marcos HS/Hawai’i) 11 Joy DENNIS 6-0 Gr. 4V Cypress, Calif. (Keystone Academy) 12 Haley HALLGREN 6-1 Sr. 3V Southlake, Texas (Carroll HS) 13 Hailey HARWARD 5-9 Gr. 1V Phoenix, Ariz. (Desert Vista HS) 14 Tina GRAUDINA 6-0 Jr. 2V Jurmala, Latvia 15 Lauren HARRISON 5-8 Fr. HS Menlo Park, Calif. (Notre Dame HS) 20 Josannah VAZQUEZ 5-10 Sr. 2V Mansfield, Texas (Lake Ridge HS/Long Beach CC) 21 Olivia BAKOS 5-9 Fr. HS Manhattan Beach, Calif. (Mira Costa HS) 22 Megan KRAFT 6-0 Fr. HS San Diego, Calif. (Torrey Pines HS) 23 Delaynie MAPLE 5-10 Fr. HS San Diego, Calif. (Torrey Pines HS) 24 Audrey NOURSE 5-11 So. 1V Newport Beach, Calif. (Orange Lutheran HS) 25 Julia SCOLES 6-1 Gr. TR Mooresville, N.C. (South Iredell HS/Hawai’i) 30 Mollie EBERTIN 6-1 Jr. 2V Saratoga, Calif. (Saint Francis HS) 31 Bo CHULO 6-2 Gr. TR Bjelovar, Croatia (Architecture Tech Zagreb/LMU) 33 Caitlin CUMMINGS 6-1 Fr. HS Pacifica, Calif. (Lick-Wilmerding HS) 40 Hallie CARBALLO 5-2 Fr. HS Laguna Beach, Calif. (Laguna Beach HS) 42 Nicole NOURSE 5-11 So. 1V Newport Beach, Calif. (Orange Lutheran HS) * denotes team captain 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 ATHLETIC TRAINER Lauren CRAWFORD STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH Jillian ZELLER PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Olivia BAKOS BAKE-ohs Hallie CARBALLO HAL-ee car-BALL-oh Bo CHULO CHEW-low Paige DREEUWS sounds like “blues” Mollie EBERTIN EEE-ber-tin Tina GRAUDINA gr-ow-DEE-nah Haley HALLGREN HAY-lee Hailey HARWARD HAY-lee Maja KAISER MY-uhh Audrey/Nicole NOURSE NORSE Josannah VAZQUEZ hose-ANNA VASS-kez Gustavo ROCHA goo-STAH-voh ROW-kah 2 2021 USC BEACH VOLLEYBALL 2021 SCHEDULE DATE DAY OPPONENT LOCATION TIME TV FEB 25 Thursday Pepperdine Merle Norman Stadium 11 a.m. Pepperdine Merle Norman Stadium 1 p.m. MAR 4 Thursday Cal Poly vs. UCLA Merle Norman Stadium 10 a.m. Cal Poly Merle Norman Stadium 12:15 p.m. UCLA Merle Norman Stadium 2:30 p.m. MAR 7 Sunday vs. Long Beach State 1 Malibu, Calif. 12 p.m. at Pepperdine 1 Malibu, Calif. 2 p.m. MAR 13 Saturday Long Beach State vs. Loyola Marymount Merle Norman Stadium 10 a.m. Long Beach State Merle Norman Stadium 12:15 p.m. Loyola Marymount Merle Norman Stadium 2:30 p.m. MAR 18 Thursday Cal State Bakersfield Merle Norman Stadium 12 p.m. MAR 21 Sunday at Pepperdine Malibu, Calif. 2 p.m. MAR 27 Saturday vs. Oregon 2 Tucson, Ariz. 12:45 p.m. P12N vs. Utah 2 Tucson, Ariz. 7 p.m. P12N MAR 28 Sunday vs. Washington 2 Tucson, Ariz. 12:45 p.m. P12N vs. UCLA 2 Tucson, Ariz. 5:45 p.m. P12N APR 3 Saturday Florida State Merle Norman Stadium 11 a.m. Florida State Merle Norman Stadium 1 p.m. APR 4 Sunday Louisiana State Merle Norman Stadium 11 a.m. Louisiana State [SENIOR DAY] Merle Norman Stadium 1 p.m. APR 10 Saturday vs. California 3 Stanford, Calif. 8 a.m. vs. Washington 3 Stanford, Calif. 11 a.m. APR 11 Sunday at Stanford 3 Stanford, Calif. 12 p.m. P12N vs. Arizona State 3 Stanford, Calif. 2 p.m. APR 16 Friday Center of Effort Challenge 4 San Luis Obispo, Calif. TBD APR 17 Saturday Center of Effort Challenge 4 San Luis Obispo, Calif. TBD APR 22 Thursday at UCLA Mapes Beach 3 p.m. APR 29 Thursday Pac-12 Championship * (1st Rd.) Mapes Beach TBD P12N APR 30 Friday Pac-12 Championship * (QF/SF) Mapes Beach TBD P12N MAY 1 Saturday Pac-12 Championship * (F) Mapes Beach TBD P12N MAY 7 Friday NCAA Championship ^ Gulf Shores, Ala. TBD ESPN MAY 8 Saturday NCAA Championship ^ Gulf Shores, Ala. TBD ESPN MAY 9 Sunday NCAA Championship ^ Gulf Shores, Ala. TBD ESPN Bold denotes home matches played at Merle Norman Stadium • All times Pacific unless otherwise noted 1 Pepperdine Invite • Zuma Beach • Malibu, Calif. 2 Pac-12 South Invitational • Bear Down Beach • Tucson, Ariz. 3 Pac-12 North Invitational • Stanford Beach Volleyball Stadium • Stanford, Calif. 4 Center of Effort Challenge • Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex • San Luis Obispo, Calif. * Pac-12 Championship • Mapes Beach • Westwood, Calif. ^ NCAA Championship • Gulf Shores Beach • Gulf Shores, Ala. @USCBeach 3 2021 USC BEACH VOLLEYBALL MERLE NORMAN STADIUM Merle Norman Stadium is the on-campus home to the USC women’s beach volleyball program. Located on the east side of University Park Campus on Figueroa Street across from the Galen Center, it features three courts with sand from the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The palm tree-encircled stadium also has bleachers and a grass berm for spectator seating, a scoreboard and audio system, lighting, restrooms, showers, and multiple team storage areas. Ground was broken to build the new venue in July of 2012 under the generous donations of Jack and Helen Nethercutt and John and Me- linda Muller, and a large sum from an anonymous donor. The Mullers have a daughter (Erica) on the 2013 squad. A USC alumnus, Jack Neth- ercutt served as vice president of marketing and later President of Merle Norman Cosmetics in 1973. He left the company to pursue other ventures but returned to his presidency in March of 2002 and now serves as Chairman of the Board with his wife Helen as Vice Chairman. The stadium is named for Nethercutt’s great aunt and namesake of the cosmetics corporation, Merle Nethercutt Norman. Jack and Helen are active in Los Angeles non-profits and charities and are Galen Founders, Scholarship Club members, and Conquest supporters of the USC Trojan Marching Band. On Thursday, March 7, 2013, USC officially opened and dedicated Merle Norman Stadium in conjunction with the beach volleyball pro- gram’s alumni match. The Nethercutts were on hand to cut the ribbon with first Trojan head coach Anna Collier and athletic director Pat Haden. USC All-America alumnae and Olympic beach volleyball silver medalists Jennifer Kessy and April Ross christened the sand in their return to campus for the special match.