USC Advances to Fourth NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship Dual
GULF SHORES, Ala. – The second-seeded USC beach volleyball team (29-4) took a 3-1 win over fifth-seeded Loyola Marymount (31-7) on Saturday, May 8, to advance to the NCAA Championship Dual for the fourth time (2016, '17, '19) in program history.
The Trojans will face either LMU for the second time or UCLA (31-4) at 12:30 p.m. CT (10:30 a.m. PT). The championship match will be shown live on ESPN2 with live streams from individual courts available on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.
USC improved to 17-4 all-time at the NCAA Championship; to 24-8 in the state of Alabama; and to 23-0 all-time against LMU.
It took extra points at both positions, but the Trojans won first sets at both the Nos. 2 and 4 courts, which started the dual first. USC scored the first point in the dual with a win at No. 2 where graduate Julia Scoles and senior All-American Sammy Slater took down Selina Marolf and Reka Orsi Toth, 24-22, 21-14.
At court four, graduate Joy Dennis and freshman Delaynie Maple broke through to get a 27-25 win in the first set over Darby Dunn and Jacinda Ramirez but dropped a 24-22 decision in the second. The pairs were knotted at seven-all in the third set when play was stopped.
LMU evened the dual with a win at the No. 3 position. There, Jessie Prichard and Savannah Slattery defeated senior Haley Hallgren and graduate Hailey Harward in hotly contested sets, 22-20, 21-19.
In a bang-bang finish, USC scored a second point from court five where sophomore twins Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse defeated Emma Doud and Madi Firnett, 21-18, 21-19. Seconds later, the dual was clinched on a point from the top court where junior All-American Tina Graudina and freshman Megan Kraft took down Iya Lindahl and Megan Rice, 21-14, 21-18.
For more information on the three-time national champion USC beach volleyball team and a complete schedule, please visit USCTrojans.com and follow @USCBeach on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
[2] No. 2 USC def. [5] No. 5 Loyola Marymount, 3-1
2021 NCAA Championship • Winner's Bracket Final
Gulf Shores Beach • Gulf Shores, Ala.
Saturday, May 8, 2021
RECORDS: USC (29-4), Loyola Marymount (31-7)
1. Tina GRAUDINA/Megan KRAFT (USC) def. Iya LINDAHL/Megan RICE (LMU); 21-14, 21-18
2. Julia SCOLES/Sammy SLATER (USC) def. Selina MAROLF/Reka ORSI TOTH (LMU); 24-22, 21-14
3. Jessie PRICHARD/Savannah SLATTERY (LMU) def. Haley HALLGREN/Hailey HARWARD (USC); 22-20, 21-19
4. Joy DENNIS/Delaynie MAPLE (USC) vs. Darby DUNN/Jacinda RAMIREZ (LMU); 27-25, 22-24, 7-7 susp.
5. Audrey NOURSE/Nicole NOURSE (USC) def. Emma DOUD/Madi FIRNETT (LMU); 21-18, 21-19
Order of finish: 2, 3, 5, 1*