Women’s Beach Volleyball | April 14, 2023
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The No. 2-ranked USC beach volleyball team (22-1) knocked off No. 6 Loyola Marymount (21-5) by a 4-1 count to open the Center of Effort Challenge at the Swanson Beach Volleyball Complex on Friday, April 14.
The win is the 12th in a row for the Women of Troy, which matches the sixth-longest streak in school history and is also the 300th all-time victory for the Trojans as USC becomes the first program to reach the 300-win milestone.
USC improves to 25-0 in all-time meetings with Loyola Marymount and goes to 9-0 in San Luis Obispo.
The Trojans fired the first shot of the dual with a win at the No. 4 position as junior Olivia Bakos and freshman Gabby Walker teamed up for a 21-18, 21-14 win over Cassie Chinn and Jacinda Ramirez. The duo has now won nine of its last 10 matches.
Moments later, the Lions pulled even with a win at court five when Madi Firnett and Isabelle Tucker took down the Trojans’ graduate duo of Jenna Johnson andAshlyn Rasnick-Pope, 21-15, 21-14.
At the top spot, USC juniors Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple made it a 2-1 lead for the Trojans on their 21-16, 21-18 win over Melanie Paul and Vilhelmiina Prihti. The USC pair improves to 16-1 on the season with their sixth straight win.
The clinching point went up when twin seniors Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse completed a three-set win over Kirstine Garder and Abbey Thorup at court two, 21-14, 18-21, 15-12. The Nourse sisters delivered the clinching point for the fifth time this season and improved to 19-3 overall with their 11th straight win. The duo is now 81-13 all-time and just 10 wins from matching the second-highest total in USC history.
Team Madison—freshman Madison Shields and graduate Madison White—also went three sets and defeated Chloe Hooker and Alisha Stevens, 18-21, 21-14, 15-13, at the No. 3 position to make the final score 4-1. Shields and White won their 12th straight match to improve to 17-5 on the season. It was also the 12th time Shields-White has played a three-set match as the duo improves to 9-3 in such matches.
USC is back in action for a 3 p.m. PT matchup with fourth-ranked Florida State (28-4). The Trojans defeated the Seminoles, 3-2, in the East Meets West Invitational on Manhattan Beach sand…
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