Beach volleyball splits matches at Mapes


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The Trojans end the regular season with a 26-3 record as they prepare to take on conference foes in the Pac-12 tournament next week. (Louis Chen | Daily Trojan)

Sprawled across the lawn of UCLA’s Mapes Beach, fans, family and students seeking that mid-quarter tan gathered to watch the No. 1 Bruins take on their crosstown rivals, the No. 3 Trojans, in the conclusion of the regular season trilogy. 

USC fell to UCLA in a dual score of 4-1 Thursday afternoon as UCLA clinched the dual in straight games. However, when the Bruins clinched the dual point with a win over No. 3 pair junior Olivia Bakos and freshman Gabby Walker, cheers from the crowd were eerily short-lived. The excitement defused to a mere silence of satisfaction — the Trojans were able to finish strong.

In the season’s first tournament, USC edged out a 3-2 home win over the Bruins. This past weekend, UCLA evened the matchup with a 3-2 score in the Center of Effort Challenge in San Luis Obispo. In the Trojans’ loss today, duals between USC and UCLA, the only two programs to win the NCAA national championship, remained unyielding and unpredictable. 

No. 4 pair for USC, graduate student Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope and freshman Madison White, began the first flight. This pairing is unique because White typically plays the No. 3 position beside graduate student Madison Shields. Together, they boast a 15-match win streak, the longest at USC this season. No. 2 senior twins Audrey and Nicole Nourse joined Pope and White in the dual’s first flight.

UCLA’s 6-foot-2 graduate student Abby Van Winkle took over the second set with explosive blocks and spikes to give the Bruins their first dual point, 21-15, 21-11.

White and Pope fought hard on court two to keep the game score tight, but were unable to win the point on court four.

When the second flight approached the courts, comeback hopes filled the air, and the DJ cranked up the music.

As “Keeping Your Head Up” by Birdy kicked off the final three games, No. 1 duo junior Megan Kraft and junior Delaynie Maple, Bakos and Walker on court three, and No. 5 pair of freshman Bailey Showalter and graduate student Jenna Johnson took to the sand.

On courts three and five, the Bruins clawed back to secure the first set, but the Trojans remained resistant to the Bruins’ efforts to get a dual clinching point. Walker and Johnson heightened the tension and intensity on their respective courts when they delivered a deluge of kills. Regardless of the narrowing scoreboards, the Bruins ran away with victories on both courts.

After the Trojans fell down 3-0, the crowd enclosed court one. Maple and Kraft lit up court one to avoid the sweep and reinvigorate the Trojans’ confidence. 

In one week, the Bruins have fueled their hot streak with two consecutive wins over the Trojans and a victory over previously undefeated TCU. The Trojans will have to match the Bruins’ rate of improvement fast, as they expect to face UCLA again in the Pac-12 Championship next week.

USC worked to make adjustments and get back on track just hours later, when they dominated their final matchup of the regular season against No. 5 Loyola Marymount. The Nourse twins tallied USC’s first point over the Lions with a three-setter win. They improved to 84-16 all-time, seven wins from matching the second-highest win total by a pair in program history. Johnson and Showalter sealed the Trojans’ 4-1 claim to the dual with a thrilling win when they came back from a 34-32 loss.

As the season continues, the Trojans are looking to add to the record book. This past weekend’s win over LMU marked USC’s 300th win, making it the first program to achieve this record. Following the conference championships, USC will continue to fight to become the first three-peat NCAA national champion.

The Trojans return to action April 26 to 28, when they’ll battle for the Pac-12 Championship at the Beach Volleyball Stadium in Stanford.