The sunny shores of Laguna Beach set the stage for the Best in the West tournament once again. No. 4 USC (23-6), last year’s champion, entered looking to defend its title. 

After starting the year on a high note at the Outrigger Classic, including a win over No. 1 Stanford (27-2), the Trojans have struggled to defeat top teams, including the Cardinal and No. 2 UCLA (21-4). Still, the Trojans combined for only two losses in 10 matches with successful trips to Florida and Texas in March.

The Trojans entered the tournament ready for revenge against the Bruins, but ultimately fell apart despite an early strong showing.  

Day 1 dominance 

USC opened the tournament against No. 6 Cal Poly (21-5) and No. 10 Long Beach State (18-10). In the tournament opener, the Trojans defeated Cal Poly 3-2. 

In their first time facing Long Beach State this year, some Trojan pairs dominated, while other pairs struggled. 

The No. 5 pair of freshman Kyra Zaengle and sophomore Calinda Kok put USC on the board first, with their dominant win over redshirt freshmen Madi Collins and Victoria Henkel. However, freshman Bella Satterwhite and graduate student Kerry Keefe struggled against the Beach, losing their match rather swiftly. 

Following that result, the No. 2 and No. 4 pairs of USC dominated their opponents, securing the overall match win of the Best in the West Tournament for the Trojans. 

In the final matchup of the duel, No. 1 pair junior Zoey Henson and freshman Sarah Wood pushed their match to three sets, going extra time, but just barely fell short in the third, 21-19, 26-28, 15-12. 

Later in the day, USC continued its strong play against Cal Poly. Cal Poly suffered a tough loss against UCLA just hours before playing USC, and the Mustangs could not turn it around. 

USC’s No. 1 and 3 pairs finished in straight sets to control the dual; however, USC’s No. 2 pair was completely dominated by the Mustangs, unable to take a set. 

The No. 5 pair of Zaengle and Kok went the distance, coming back from a first-set deficit (14-21, 21-13, 15-11). Their win secured the second straight overall win for the Trojans on the day and put them in a strong position entering Day 2. 

Day 2 defeat

Despite having two wins against ranked opponents on the first day, the Trojans were unable to maintain their momentum and fell to both of their opponents on the second day of the tournament. 

In the opening tournament of the year, USC defeated Stanford but fell to UCLA. 

This time around, USC lost to Stanford, with only Zaengle and Kok pushing their match to three sets. Stanford dominated USC at every pair, leaving it no room to repeat its earlier win from the opening match of the season in Hawaii. 

Seeking redemption and their first win against UCLA this season, the Trojans closed the tournament against their crosstown rival. 

At first, things were looking good for USC. Juniors Madison Goellner and Kaileigh Truslow, a newer pair, got it done for the Trojans, securing the first point. After that, No. 2 pair junior Ashley Pater and sophomore Kennedy Coakley defeated their UCLA pair quickly, putting the Trojans up by two matches. 

However, the Trojans’ dreams of defeat were quickly shut down as the remaining three USC pairs fell to give the Bruins a 3-2 victory and their second rivalry win of the season. 

After a disappointing end to the Best in the West Tournament, USC will travel to San Luis Obispo for the Center of Effort Challenge this Friday and Saturday. The Trojans will face all-too-familiar opponents, including Stanford, No. 7 TCU (32-5) and No. 8 Loyola Marymount University (22-6).