Women’s Beach Volleyball | July 10, 2023
GSTAAD, Switzerland – USC beach volleyball All-Americans Kelly Cheng (Fullerton, Calif.) and Sara Hughes (Costa Mesa, Calif.) finished in second place at the 2023 Beach Volleyball World Tour Elite 16 event at Gstaadion on Sunday, July 9.
The duo held the third seed in the tournament and continue to rise in the world rankings with another podium finish.
Fellow USC All-Americans Julia Scoles (Mooresville, N.C.) and Tina Graudina (Jurmala, Latvia) each reached the round of 12 with partners Betsi Flint and Anastasija Samoilova, respectively. All-American Terese Cannon (Pittsford, N.Y.) did not reach the knockout stages of the tournament with partner Sarah Sponcil.
On the men’s side, USC alum Andy Benesh (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and partner Miles Partain went 6-0 to win gold medals and earned their second international victory as a pair.
Domestically, current Trojan senior Megan Kraft (San Diego, Calif.) earned a fifth-place finish at the AVP Hermosa Beach Open. Geena Urango (Los Alamitos, Calif.) finished in seventh and All-American Hailey Harward (Phoenix, Ariz.) took a ninth-place finish in the event.
Under fourth-year head coach Dain Blanton, the USC beach volleyball team captured its third straight NCAA Championship (fifth NCAA title and sixth national title) in 2023. The Women of Troy finished the year ranked No. 1 and had an overall record of 32-5. USC added two more AVCA All-Americans to its history books with the third selection for Megan Kraft and the first-career honor for Delaynie Maple. Kraft was named the Pac-12’s Player of the Year while she and Maple earned Pac-12 Pair of the Year laurels. Both were named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Team and were joined by Madison Shields and Madison White. Blanton finished his fourth season with a 105-15 career record and Gustavo Rocha was chosen as the AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year.
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 Twitter @USCBeach.
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