Women’s Beach Volleyball | July 08, 2024
GSTAAD, Switzerland – USC beach volleyball All-Americans Terese Cannon (Pittsford, N.Y.) and Megan Kraft (San Diego, Calif.) finished second and claimed silver medals under the Team USA banner while All-American Tina Graudina (Jurmala, Latvia) won bronze at the FIVB Elite 16 event which concluded on Sunday, July 7.
Cannon-Kraft secured their best finish on the FIVB tour. The duo won a NORCECA event to close 2023 in Juan Dolio. It was the ninth podium finish at an FIVB event for Graudina. Most recently, she and partner Anastasija Samoilova took first at the Recife event in March.
Proceedings in Gstaad concluded with an all-USA women’s final. LSU graduates Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss went three sets with Cannon-Kraft to secure gold on a 19-21, 21-15, 15-11 win in the championship match. Graudina-Samoilova fell to Kloth-Nuss in the semifinal but won their third-place match over Brazil’s Agatha and Rebecca in straight sets, 21-16, 21-10. Cannon and Kraft defeated Agatha-Rebecca in three sets in their semifinal, 21-18, 15-21, 15-13, to advance to the title match.
The Women of Troy won an unprecedented fourth straight NCAA championship in 2024 to up the program’s total to seven all-time national titles. Top-ranked USC finished the season 37-5 overall and went 4-0 at the championship with an incredible 12-0 mark in individual court play. It was the 136th national title won by a USC team and the school’s 113th NCAA team championship. USC became the first women’s team in school history to win four consecutive national titles and brought home the 38th women’s national championship; the 28th NCAA crown won by the Women of Troy. Fifth-year head coach and AVCA National Coach of the Year Dain Blanton improved to 17-0 in NCAA duals and improved to 4-for-4 in national championship appearances.
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 X @USCBeach.
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