Beach volleyball goes undefeated on peninsula
USC cruised past four teams this weekend, extending its win streak to 12 duals.
By LEILA MACKENZIE
As the Florida sunshine fomented the shores of Pompano Beach, a spring breaker, initially contented by his margarita and darkening tan, couldn’t resist the action at the FAU Beach Invitational.
“This is USC,” he said, pausing for emphasis. “It’s the real shit, man.”
And yes, the No. 1 Trojans (16-2) kept it real.
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Friday and Saturday at the FAU Invite, USC took care of four teams — Palm Beach Atlantic University (9-10), No. 16 Florida Atlantic University (10-7, 2-2 AAC), No. 12 Florida International University (14-3, 1-0 Conference USA) and No. 5 Texas Christian University (14-2, 3-0 Big 12) — to extend its dual win streak to 12.
Although winning is nothing new for the Trojans, playing a few miles up the coast from Miami was.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” said Head Coach Dain Blanton. “[Pompano is] a little more laid-back but beautiful. It’s a really quaint little beach area that the team and the staff and all the players loved.”
The Trojans sprung into their spring break duals against unranked PBA — a team that’s only in its fifth season — allowing USC to start players who are further down the depth chart.
Freshman Grace Hong and sophomore Delaney Karl each made their season debuts at the No. 5 position. The duo almost completed a comeback, but ultimately fell 13-21, 21-19, 15-13.
“We’ve still got a lot to learn,” Blanton said. “Every game, we try to make the most of it. And it’s a test. We record everything [and] break everything down. Each time we play, it’s just an opportunity to get better.”
The Trojans took down the Sailfish 4-1 after winning the dual’s four other matches in straight sets.
Besides mixing up the No. 5 position, USC had a rather fixed lineup across the four duals.
At the No. 3 and No. 4 position, sophomore Madison White teamed up with freshman Ashley Pater to go undefeated in Pater’s home state, winning four matches without dropping a set.
In 2023, White played her freshman season alongside graduate Madison “Maddog” Shields and the pair was awarded an AVCA Top Flight award, but this season White has already played with five different players.
“She’s been playing with everyone,” Blanton said. “She’s such a great athlete, she can fit in anywhere and she’s a great all-around player. So we’re kind of using her to figure out where she really will shine.”
Graduate students Maddi Kriz and Grace Seits won three matches in straight sets at the No. 3 position, extending their win streak to 10 and improving to 13-1 on the season. Kriz-Seits have delivered USC with a team-high of four dual clinching wins this season, with two coming from the FAU Invite.
Graduate students Audrey and Nicole Nourse rolled through their first two matches in Pompano at the No. 2 position, but Saturday’s matches were surely a test. Against FIU, the twins seemed to extend their limbs beyond their bodies’ reach to pull out the three-setter 18-21, 21-12, 17-15. Less than two hours later, they narrowly fell to the Horned Frogs’ graduates Sutton MacTavish and Alex Parkhurst 26-28, 17-21.
“It teaches you to battle in the trenches,” Blanton said. “It’s fun to battle in three and win and sometimes when you lose, it’s a learning experience.”
The Trojans’ top duo of seniors Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple won its first three matches in straight sets, but its performance was highlighted by its final match of the invitational when it triumphed over TCU’s junior Hailey Hamlett and sophomore Anhelina Khmil in a three-setter.
In the first set of the invite-ending thriller, the Horned Frogs took a quick 4-1 lead, summoning most of the USC and TCU rosters out of the team tents and onto the sidelines. Coaches and players, cloaked in tie-dye beach wraps, surrounded the court, cheering throughout the tight match.
On the Trojans’ second match point, Maple soared above the net and delivered the final kill to finish the match atop 21-19, 18-21, 15-13. Kraft-Maple earned AVCA/CBVB National Pair of the Week for the first time Monday.
USC will briefly return home Tuesday as it looks to extend its dual home win streak to 23 against Concordia University Irvine (13-4) and No. 13 University of Hawai’i at Manoa (8-7).
