USC Beach Volleyball Set to Defend NCAA Titles on Gulf Shores Sand

Women’s Beach Volleyball | May 02, 2023

GULF SHORES, Ala. – The back-to-back defending NCAA champion USC beach volleyball team (28-5) makes its seventh appearance in the NCAA Championship and is the third seed as play begins on Gulf Place Beach this Friday (May 5). The Women of Troy meet 14th-seeded Sun Belt champion Georgia State (20-16) at 3 p.m. CT (1 p.m. PT) in the round of 16. This is the first year the NCAA will employ a single-elimination 16-team bracket. Should the Trojans advance to the quarterfinal, they face sixth-seed Loyola Marymount (28-8) or 11-seed Hawai’i (27-8).

THIS WEEK

2023 NCAA BEACH VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Gulf Place • Gulf Shores, Ala.

LIVE TV/STREAM: ESPNU/ESPN2/ESPN/ESPN+

MATCH #34 • Friday, May 5 • 3 p.m. CT (1 p.m. PT)

[3] No. 3 USC (28-5) vs. [14] No. 13 Georgia State (20-16)

NCAA Championship • Round of 16

TOURNAMENT BRACKET: NCAA.com

SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 5-0 (1.000)

STREAK: Won 5 • LAST 10: 5-0

LAST MEETING: W 4-1 (Apr. 1, 2023 • Manhattan Beach)

OPPONENT WEBSITE: GeorgiaStateSports.com

BARE E-SAND-SHELLS • TL;DR

• USC is the back-to-back defending NCAA champion and owns five national titles including the first NCAA crown in 2016 (AVCA ’15, NCAA ’17, ’21, ’22).
• USC has also won four Pac-12 championships (2016, ’17, ’19, ’22).
• USC is 101-15 (.871) under fourth-year head coach Dain Blanton.
• The Trojans are ranked No. 3 in the AVCA and CBVB polls. It is the 99th time (of 99) USC is ranked by the AVCA; its 98th time in the top 5. The Trojans have also been ranked No. 1 a record 41 times.
• The Women of Troy are 23-4 all-time in NCAA tournament duals and hold a 30-8 all-time mark on Gulf Shores sand.
• In individual matches, Trojan pairs are 73-27 in the NCAA tournament and USC’s top pair is 22-0 all-time in NCAA duals.
• USC became the first school to reach the 300-win mark with its victory over Loyola Marymount on April 14. The Trojans are 306-53 all-time.
• USC has had nine double-digit win streaks all-time including a 14-dual streak that ended on April 15. The 14-match win streak ranks fifth in program history.
• Twin seniors Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse rank third among pairs in school history with 87 total wins. The sisters have played 103 matches together, which also ranks third in program history. They need just four…