For USC beach volleyball, the Pac-12 farewell tour begins this weekend at the Pac-12 South Invitational. There, the Trojans will face four up-and-coming teams from its dissolving conference at the Sun Devil Beach Volleyball Facility.

The Southwest showcase follows up the Trojans’ home opener where No. 3 USC (8-2) notched wins in all four of its duals, including three sweeps and three victories over teams ranked within the top 20 of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Collegiate Beach Poll. 

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Speaking of sweeps, the Trojans have swept this weekend’s opponents a total of 34 times. In fact, against its challengers in the upcoming invitational — No. 14 Washington (3-5), No. 19 Arizona (7-0), Utah (6-2) and Oregon (1-7) — USC has yet to drop a duel. 

But that’s not a reason to overlook the competition. Both Arizona and Washington are ranked within the top 20 and the Wildcats are undefeated through seven games for the first time in three seasons. Moreover, as beach volleyball runs its ninth season at the Division I level, the Pac-12 is blossoming with talent. Seven teams in the conference are ranked within the top 20, and as the sport’s development pipeline expands, the gap between the best teams and the rest of the conference is narrowing.

“Where there were five talented girls, there are now 15 or 20 that are really tier-one recruits,” said Head Coach Dain Blanton. “What that does is everyone mixes around and goes to different schools, and that creates more parity. That’s why you’re seeing some increased rosters in terms of talent: Stanford, Washington and some of those schools.” 

Among the Trojans’ latest signees and transfers, six of 10 players grew up outside of California in budding hotbeds like Florida and Texas. 

“We don’t care where you’re from. We want the best talent,” Blanton said. “And now, people are understanding that they want the player development that [USC] offers: the opportunity to win championships, the opportunity to go on and play in the Olympics and World Championships.” 

Beyond the offseason talent search, USC is on the road all throughout the spring. It began this year 4-2 in Hawai‘i when it faced four teams that were then ranked within the top 10.

“This was the most difficult start to a season that we’ve ever been put in … and we usually start a little bit slower,” Blanton said. “I know this team’s mature, so I really wanted to put them in the hot arena.”

After the contest in Arizona, the Trojans will traverse the country for a tournament in Florida. Then, they’ll return for two quick home duels before playing three consecutive weeks of tournaments in Baton Rouge, Seattle and San Luis Obispo. 

Although the Trojans are accustomed to an abundance of travel, they’d like to spend more time at home to strengthen their fanbase.

“We’d love to have more home matches. But we have 16 dates that we can play, and those dates are getting eaten up a lot by two-day tournaments that we need to play in,” Blanton said. “We want to create something special, play more on the weekdays during lunchtime and make it a thing to get the student body out and get the staff out and to make it a tradition.”

USC will have the opportunity to attract local fans March 23 at 4 p.m. when it hosts a special alumni match at Norman Stadium. The event will feature distinguished Trojan legends such as three-time Olympic medalist April Ross and the reigning world champions Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes. 

But before the at-home expo, USC will face four Pac-12 teams at the Wildcat-hosted Pac-12 South Invitational. The Trojans play Utah at 11 a.m. and Washington at 7 p.m. Saturday. The following day, they’ll compete against Arizona at noon and Oregon at 2 p.m.