USC's Julia Scoles and Sammy Slater Named AVCA/CollegeBeachVB.com Pair of the Week
LEXINGTON, Ky. – USC beach volleyball graduate Julia Scoles (Mooresville, N.C.) and senior All-American Sammy Slater (Ventura, Calif.) were named the AVCA/CollegeBeachVB.com National Pair of the Week on Tuesday, May 11.
The Trojans' dynamic No. 2 duo went 4-0 in Gulf Shores to help the Trojans secure their fourth national title and third NCAA championship in the last five seasons. Scoles-Slater delivered the clinching point in the championship dual with a 26-24, 21-15 win over UCLA's Lea Monkhouse and Devon Newberry to finish undefeated without dropping a set. They were later named to the NCAA all-tournament team.
The pair started the week with a 21-12, 21-18 win against sixth-ranked Cal Poly's Jayelin Lombard and Amy Ozee and then took a 21-18, 21-11 win over No. 3 Florida State's Keara Rutz and Torrey Van Winden. In the NCAA winner's bracket final, the duo fought off No. 5 Loyola Marymount's pair of Selina Marolf and Reka Orsi Toth to win, 24-22, 21-14.
Scoles and Slater finished the season with a 15-3 overall mark and a 13-2 record at the No. 2 position. Individually, Slater was 27-6 overall with matches at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions. Scoles was 25-4 overall.
Earlier this season, junior All-American Tina Graudina and freshman Megan Kraft were named AVCA/CollegeBeachVB.com Pair of the Week on April 13. Graudina and All-American partner Abril Bustamante also won the award once each in 2018 and 2019 for a total of four Trojans pairs to have received the national honor.
The Trojans captured the program's fourth national championship with a win over crosstown rival UCLA in the NCAA Championship final. Under second-year head coach Dain Blanton, USC went 30-4 and had winning streaks of 13 and 12 duals during the season.
For more information on the USC beach volleyball team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/beach. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @USCBeach.