No. 1 beach volleyball extends win streak


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Coming off a huge victory over No. 2-ranked Pepperdine last Thursday, the No. 1-ranked beach volleyball team traveled to the South over the weekend to participate in the 2016 Cowtown Classic hosted by TCU.  Of the four teams in the field, USC came out on top as they produced three clean sweeps to improve their record to 23-2 overall and extended their winning streak to 19 matches in a row.

USC’s experience as the defending national champions would prove to be too much for their opponents over the weekend, as all three victories came by way of 5-0 scores. All in all, the Women of Troy have swept opponents 13 times this season and dropped just three of the 33 total sets they played in Fort Worth. Furthermore, USC’s top five flights have now all amassed more than 20 total wins this season in their respective pairs.

To open the tournament, the Women of Troy took on New Mexico on Friday afternoon. The five pair of sophomore Jo Kremer and graduate student Zoe Nightingale scored the first point of the dual with a three-set victory over Carson Heilborn and Maddie Mayfield (21-12, 19-21, 15-7), marking their 20th overall win together on the season. The four pair of sophomore Jenna Belton and freshman Abril Bustamante soon joined the 20-win club with a three-set win over Eastyn Baleto and Marisa Doran (23-25, 21-14, 15-10). The clinching point of the dual was scored by juniors Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes, who easily handled Cassie House and Ashley Kelsey on Court 1 (21-7, 21-8). USC’s three pair of juniors Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler tacked on the fourth point over Hannah Johnson and Julia Warren (21-12, 21-14), while junior Sophie Bukovec and senior Alexa Strange ended the 5-0 win with a sweep over Lisa Rugland and Devanne Sours on Court 2 (21-17, 21-10).

Early Saturday morning, USC faced Louisiana-Monroe and produced another 5-0 sweep. Sophomore Terese Cannon and freshman Katrina Kernochan came in at the five spot and delivered a 21-14, 21-8 win over Catherine Griffith and Bayleigh Hoffman, while Belton and Bustamante added the second point of the dual with a victory over Claire Crossfield and Tara Jenkins (21-9, 18-21, 15-8). Once again the match was clinched at the top court by Claes and Hughes, who steamrolled Hope Pawlik and Taylor Zaeske (21-8, 21-6), while Bukovec and Strange added the fourth point over Kori Simpson and Hadley Swartz at the No. 2 spot (21-10, 21-11). Lastly, Martin and Wheeler capped off the sweep with a 21-8, 21-13 win over Delaney Driver and Kaitlyn Shearer.

In the premier matchup of the tournament against host TCU later that day, the Women of Troy shut the door quickly and spoiled the Horned Frogs’ afternoon with their third consecutive 5-0 sweep. At the two bottom flights, Belton and Bustamante outlasted Jaelyn Greene and Molly Scheel (21-17, 21-12) on Court 4, while Kremer and Nightingale defeated Sierra Kile and Ariah Palter (21-15, 21-13) on Court 5. All-Americans Claes and Hughes clinched the team victory for the third straight time on Court 1 with a 21-12, 21-10 win over Olivia Canales and Shane Peters, marking the duo’s 56th straight victory together and pushing their season record to 31-0. Bukovec and Strange then bested Michelle McNamee and Sarita Mikals with an identical 21-9, 21-9 score at Court 2, while Martin and Wheeler rounded out the perfect weekend with a 21-15, 21-13 win at Court 3.

When the tournament was all said and done, USC improved their overall record to 23-2 on the season, while ULM fell to 10-15, New Mexico moved to 16-7 and TCU fell to 16-6 overall.

The regular season schedule continues for the Women of Troy, who will now go back home and prepare for one last weekend tournament. USC will take to the sands of Honolulu, Hawaii, for the second time this year when they play in the 2016 Aloha Invitational this Friday and Saturday. The duals tournament will be held on a neutral court at Queen’s Beach with a jam-packed field that includes No. 5 Hawaii, No. 6 Long Beach State and No. 9 Florida International.