No. 2 USC hosts top-ranked Pepperdine


After a title-winning trip to Hawaii during the USC sand volleyball team’s spring break, the Women of Troy will look to continue their six game winning streak as they take on Pepperdine this today at 5 p.m. in Merle Norman Stadium.

Last week in Honolulu, senior Kirby Burnham and freshman Sara Hughes won four matches at the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Spring Challenge to take home the tournament title on a 21-18, 21-16 victory over host Hawai’i’s Karissa Cook and Brittany Tiegs at the Queen’s Beach Sandbox on Saturday, March 22.

In Hawaii, the second-ranked USC women’s sand volleyball team (6-1) started off its trip in the right manner with a pair of victories at the Queen’s Beach Sandbox last Wednesday. The Women of Troy earned a 4-1 win over first-year program Arizona in their morning dual and then fought off third-ranked host Hawai’i for a 3-2 victory in the early afternoon.

After this victory, USC posted a 5-0 victory over No. 8 Nebraska to win its sixth straight dual match at the Queen’s Beach Sandbox. The Women of Troy won all five matches in straight sets and improved to 3-0 on its road trip to the islands.

Before this successful showdown, the Women of Troy defeated fourth-ranked Florida State in a dramatic 3-2 win. Freshman Kelly Claes and sophomore Alexa Strange came up big for the Women of Troy against FSU by taking out Julie Brown and Melanie Pavels. This win tallied the USC’s first win over Florida State, which is a huge motivation heading in to the peak of the season.

In today’s match, the Women of Troy will battle against No. 1 Pepperdine after taking a 5-0 loss to the Waves early in the season. The Waves are undefeated this season and will be attempting to continue their impressive 41-1 all-time record when they make the trip to USC.

Some of Pepperdine’s star players include Sophie Asprey and Victoria Adelhelm. They are going to have to put up a tough match against Burnham and Hughes and the rest of the Women of Troy if they want to continue their winning traditions.

Today’s matchup between the top two teams in the nation kicks off at 5 p.m. at USC’s Merle Norman Stadium.