Beach volleyball has six wins in tournament


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A weekend trip to the Sunshine State yielded great results for the No. 2-ranked beach volleyball team, who came away with six wins in dominating fashion at the fourth annual Florida International University Surf and Turf Invitational in Miami, Florida.

In the tournament, the Women of Troy (17-2) played three top-10 teams and recorded 5-0 sweeps over South Carolina, Tulane, No. 10 Florida International and Florida Atlantic, while tallying 4-1 victories over No. 8 Georgia State and No. 9 Stetson to add to the third-longest winning streak in program history at 13 matches in a row.

As the lone West Coast team in the field, USC met five of these teams for the first time in program history. However, the defending national champions would make quick work of their opponents in South Beach, losing just two of the 30 total games they played on the weekend.

With six matches scheduled in two days, head coach Anna Collier was pleased with her team’s efforts.

“I thought the girls played very well overall, especially in extreme heat,” Collier said. “It was very hot and there was some good, significant wind out there which was also difficult, but I think they handled all of the elements and all of the matches really well.”

The Trojans started off the tournament on the right foot on Friday morning when they defeated No. 8 Georgia State, 4-1. USC won in straight sets at Courts 1, 2 and 3 to quickly seal the match, while sophomore Jo Kremer and graduate student Zoe Nightingale added another point at Court 5. The lone loss came from No. 4 pair of sophomore Jenna Belton and freshman Abril Bustamante in a tight three-set contest (21-14, 14-21, 18-16).

Two hours later, the Women of Troy earned their sixth sweep of the year with a 5-0 drubbing of South Carolina. Once again, USC’s top three courts dominated their fights to clinch the dual. Wins at the five and four spots followed, with Belton and Bustamante redeeming themselves and outlasting their opponents (23-25, 21-17, 15-13).

To close out the first day of action, a second consecutive sweep was in order as the Women of Troy defeated Tulane, 5-0. All five USC pairs won in straight sets over the Green Wave, with juniors Nicolette Martin and Allie Wheeler clinching the dual on Court 3 to mark their 10th straight win together.

Saturday morning saw USC face off against the No. 9-ranked Stetson Hatters. In a battle between two of the nation’s undefeated pairs, juniors Kelly Claes and Sara Hughes easily snapped the win streak of Stetson’s Sara Putt and Vendy Strakova (21-11, 21-12) at Court 1 and extended their own streak to 45 matches in a row. The first four USC pairs would win in straight sets, while Stetson narrowly won on Court 5 to finish the 4-1 final score.

In the matchup against No. 10-ranked host Florida International, USC notched yet another 5-0 sweep, all in straight sets. Sophomore Terese Cannon and freshman Katrina Kernochan came away victorious in their first action of the tournament when they swapped in at the No. 5 spot, defeating FIU’s Savannah Davis and Nati Giron by a score of 21-14, 22-20.

The Women of Troy concluded their sixth and final match of the tournament with a 5-0 win over Florida Atlantic, all by way of two-set wins. Cannon and Kernochan secured the first point, Martin and Wheeler won their 13th straight match at the No. 3 spot, and Belton and Bustamante clinched the victory on Court  4. Claes and Hughes also won their 47th straight match and improved to a 22-0 on the season. All in all, the victory marked USC’s fourth sweep of the tournament, their ninth 5-0 win overall, and their 13th straight dual win.

“I’m happy because we don’t get the opportunity to play this many great matches very often,” Collier said. “This [was] some good, good volleyball and to come out so well and on top is just great.”

The Women of Troy will now return home to prepare for the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge in Hermosa Beach, April 9-10.