USC crushes UCLA for unprecedented fourth straight women’s beach volleyball title
USC’s Olivia Bakos (5), Nicole Nourse (42) and Audrey Nourse (24) celebrate after easily defeating UCLA for the Trojans’ fourth consecutive NCAA women’s beach volleyball title Sunday. (Tyler Schank / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
GULF SHORES, Ala. —Â
The top-seeded and No. 1-ranked USC beach volleyball team (37-5) defeated second-seeded No. 2 UCLA (35-7) by a 3-0 count to win the 2024 NCAA championship at Gulf Beach Place on Sunday, May 5.
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The championship is an unprecedented fourth straight for a USC women’s team and marks the first time a Trojan team of either gender has won four consecutive national titles since the men’s water polo team won six consecutive titles from 2008-13.
APÂ —Â Twin sisters Nicole and Audrey Nourse won the deciding match for a second straight season as top-ranked USC won its fourth straight beach volleyball championship with a 3-0 sweep over No. 2 UCLA on Sunday.
It was the first championship — since the NCAA recognized the sport in 2016 — where all five matches went to a third game.
USC (37-5) has won six of the eight championships — the last four under head coach Dain Blanton, a product of Laguna Beach High School. UCLA (35-7) won the other two titles in 2018-19.
USC jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind its No. 2 and No. 4 pairs.
Madison White and Maddi Kriz dropped the first game 14-21 to UCLA’s Peri Brennan and Devon Newberry before rallying for 21-19 and 15-13 victories in the next two.
The Trojans’ Grace Seits and freshman Ashley Pater lost the opener 24-26 to the Bruins’ Jaden Whitmarsh and Tessa Van Winkle. Seits and Pater trailed 8-4 in the second game but rallied for a 25-23 victory before dominating the third 15-8. Seits and Pater won their final five matches and finished 12-1 as a pair this season.
The Nourse sisters edged UCLA threes Jessie Smith and Kenzie Brower 22-20 to open their match. Smith and Brower answered with a 21-15 win to even it at a game apiece. The third one was tied 9-9 before a Nicole Nourse service ace and her block at the net wrapped up a 15-11 win and the 2024 title.
USC seniors Megan Kraft, a three-time AVCA first-team All-American, and two-time first-teamer Delaynie Maple cruised to a 21-16 win over the Bruins’ Maggie Boyd and Lexy Denaburg in the opener for the ones. Boyd and Denaburg led by four in the second game before the Trojans pulled within 18-17. UCLA scored the final three points, capped by Boyd’s service ace to force a third game. Kraft and Maple had an 8-4 lead in the final game before the result became moot.
UCLA’s No. 5 pair of Natalie Myszkowski and Ensley Alden opened with a 21-17 win over USC’s Mabyn Thomas and Madison Goellner. The Trojans eked out a 23-21 win to force a deciding game. USC was up 4-2 when the match was called.
USC beat UCLA 3-2 in the championship match last season.
USC began its streak with a 3-1 win over UCLA for the 2021 title. The Trojans followed that with a 3-1 win over Florida State. The event wasn’t held in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anna Collier coached USC to its first two titles — a 3-0 sweep over Florida State in 2016 and a 3-2 victory over Pepperdine the following season.
The Trojans advanced to the final this season with a 3-0 victory over No. 5 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the semifinals. The Bruins advanced to the title match with a 3-1 victory over No. 11 Louisiana State.
The Trojans won this championship without dropping a single match (12-0) and improved to 97-32 across all courts of play at the NCAA championship. USC improved to 31-4 in NCAA tournament duals and is now 155-18 in duals when they are ranked No. 1 in the AVCA coaches’ poll. The Trojans also rise to 38-8 in the state of Alabama.
USC brings home the 38th national championship won by a women’s team; the 28th NCAA title for the Women of Troy. It is also the 136th national title won by a USC team and the 113th NCAA championship all-time.
latimes.com
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They need some kind of a salary cap on this NIL. Otherwise the teams with endless amounts of money(Oregon) will have the best players and coaches. If you have the best coaches and players you will win the most championships.
SC was in the hunt to get the interior D-Lineman from Michigan State. Then Oregon comes in with a bigger bag and scoopes him up. They had at least 3 other top notch interior D-Linemen. I don’t think that they even wanted him. They just didn’t want SC to have him.
I can’t stand Oregon. They are the Calvin Klein mercenaries of college football. Give them a big bag and a pretty uniform and they’ll sign with KMSU(Karl Marx State University). They’re only loyalty is to old “chit ching”.
I am concerned, and I think some of us others are too. LR has brought in a heck of a defensive coaching staff. Way beyond our expectations. I can see most of these coaches making moves in the next few years if not sooner and here USC is struggling to get the linemen one would expect to attract with this coaching staff. If the reason is money in closing the commitments then why wasn’t this contemplated in the beginning as to what might happen? Why bring in a killer staff and waste it’s potential? LR-House of Victory-Jen Cohen, where are… Read more »
Just read Georgia offers a California D-lineman. for 2026. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen Georgia offer linemen from California, nor Texas nor Michigan or others and, you would think they know what they are doing. LR doesn’t seem to care about California linemen in this State and that’s a problem. The first thing you do as a flagship football program is protect your home State athletes. McKay did it, PC did it…… whats wrong LR? I am not saying you shouldn’t recruit outside Calif. in finding the big guys. But don’t turn your back on a top 3-… Read more »
USC Brings In Yet Another Punter! Rey Sanchez (6-2, 203) is the second punter commitment of the spring, joining Hawaii transfer Cameron Shirangi, who committed earlier this week. Overall, Sanchez is the sixth new special teams addition to USC’s roster. USC landed a commitment from JC long snapper Devin McDonough on Monday. Sanchez averaged 33.8 yds per punt on 40 punts this past season with a long of 53 yds. He pinned 14 punts inside the 20-yd line. Sanchez only attempted four punts in his freshman season. Five-star Sanchez prepped at Carson HS before moving on to Long Beach CC. Sanchez… Read more »
33 yards per punt???? He must be their short punter.
I think Caleb Williams could have managed that with his wrong foot. Just joking, I think…
I think USC now has at least three different punters on the roster, maybe more. This latest addition seems a little curious for a Trojan team that supposedly has some of the greatest coaching offensive masterminds in the biz.
I’m guessing USC should be well set up for some perfect coffin-corner placements. Nothing wrong with that.
NFL Rumors: MarShawn Lloyd Was Eyed by Cowboys, Giants Before Packers Drafted RB Doric Sam (B/R) — Before being selected by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft, rookie RB MarShawn Lloyd reportedly was coveted by a pair of NFC East teams. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Dallas Cowboys “had shown enough pre-draft love” to Lloyd that the former USC speedster “thought the Cowboys would be one of the possible teams to draft him.” Also, the New York Giants “had [their] sights on” Lloyd “as a future lead back but didn’t have a pick… Read more »
ORE cleaned up the portal this offseason, if you go by big names landed
Yeah if the truth hurts, they did. But with the help of a certain shoe magnet or at least half that listing would be missing.
That’s the game today, so you can’t blame ORE for having the Sugar Daddy of all Sugar Daddies.
USC would be doing the same thing if we could IMHO.
Yeah that’s the truth. Phil Knight is outspending Hollywood/alumni and it is what it is. And we thought the great defensive coaching staff LR brought in would make a big enough difference here. The sooner the HS recruitment succeeds the better.
Personally, I don’t mind losing some guys if they’re overly focused on a quick one-year paycheck.
I know that sounds like sour grapes, but in some cases, I think discretion may be the better part of valor if we get guys who appreciate the increased USC defensive coaching value unconnected directly to immediate out-of-control money.
I think a hard-to-navigate balancing act is what’s necessary, because simply “buying your way to the top” may be easier said than done in terms of chemistry, culture and the team as a whole.
It will be interesting to see if the Oregon locker room melts down like TAM did. Guys showing off their money but not putting out in practice or games. Better to save the money and let our young linemen step up.
The Athletic’s Ranking of the Top 10 Players in CFB’s Spring Transfer Portal This is a fluid list that is constantly being updated 1. DE Tyler Baron, LOUIS: The 6-foot-5, 260-pound SR from Knoxville, Tenn., was a productive edge rusher for the Vols for three years and is coming off his best season yet with 28 tackles, 41 pressures, 10.5 TFLs and six sacks. Baron was one of the most coveted edge defenders in the portal back in December and initially committed to Ole Miss before flipping to Louisville. After going through spring ball with the Cardinals, Baron is back on the market for his… Read more »
I don’t think they have ever gotten that USC NIL program together. Maybe I’m wrong but it seems to me that SC is drawing a blank in the portal when it comes to the big men because they aren’t paying the money.
Money!!!! That’s the name of the game today. I don’t particularly like it but that’s the way the game is played. I wouldn’t blame LR and the coaching staff. They can only go so far if the other teams have superior players.
Overpaying for non-superior players is also rearing its ugly head.
This season will be very enlightening to observe as a focal point for all these guys who scored big at the transfer $$$$ bank — but didn’t help their teams much, if at all. I have a hunch LR and staff may not have thought some of these portal people were worth the asking price, regardless of USC’s desperation in the trenches.
Development from within is clearly the way to go, assuming you can also get the big-time preps and pay them well enough to keep them.
Both these players would benefit this season’s team. We are no longer choosers but beggars as the list of good Portal linemen are committing elsewhere. I am hoping House of Victory shows DT Suggs enough love in his pocket if that is what it takes.
The hotly pursued Jay’vier Suggs from GVS looks like he’s gonna be a tough pull from the reports everywhere.
Maybe USC can get out of this DL portal dry patch we’ve been wading through and come up with a badly needed nugget. One can always hope. ✌
Guys. I am in need of your assistance. I am planning on attending the LSU/USC game with my brother (also an SC alum). But, I need to know what side of the stadium is for SC. I really do not want to sit on the LSU side. I realize that it is open seating, but I also know there will be an SC side. Which side it is? Thanks in advance for your help!
TideFans.com — “Most of the visitor seats are in the east corner of the south end zone, lower and mid-level, with the visiting band.
“Not bad seats in comparison to some of the other SEC visitor sections. Most scatter visitors in the upper corners of the upper deck!”
These are the sections, as of Oct. ’08
303
306
403-405
640-643
“Obviously not the entirety of these sections, but that’s where the tickets are.”
tidefans.com
I’m in 133 on USC side, at least according to the chart I saw. The seating chart showed both sidelines
I am in 131. Thanks for your help. Both SeatGeek and Ticketmaster have us on the SC side.
John just passed along a note to me for my edification. The USC/LSU game is in Vegas. Sorry, I idiotically gave you the LSU Stadium seating RJJ. 😜 Chris’ response would make a lot more sense! I haven’t been able to get Tiger Stadium out of my mind since I watched #1, defending national champ USC beat the #20, 11-pt underdog Tigers there 17-12 in ’79 on that humid, out-of-control night, one of my most memorable, and loud stadium experiences ever. Six of USC’s OLs that year — tackles Anthony Munoz, Don Mosebar and Keith Van Horne, guards Brad Budde and Roy… Read more »
The stadium was more imposing than the team then.
The LSU fans were more imposing than anybody. 45 years ago and leaving the stadium amongst so many utterly dejected, inebriated, and aggressive Tiger fans still stands out in my mind. USC and LSU had never played before this game.
USC finally took the lead with only 32 seconds to go. College football at its finest, if you were a Trojan fan.
USC finished #2 in both polls to undefeated ALA, and LSU went on to beat WAKE in the Tangerine Bowl 34-10, finishing 7-5.
I thought that game was in Las Vegas?
We had A&M center on campus, 3 year starter. If he signs, we kick Jonah to LT as Elijah to RT. Line would be solid.
USC’s Attempts To Improve In the Trenches Haven’t Worked So Far The Athletic Question — “The Trojans don’t appear to have done much to beef up the offensive and defensive lines through the transfer portal to prepare for the upcoming season. Your thoughts?” Antonio Morales — It can’t be stressed enough: The lines are a major, major concern. If I could type that in flashing neon lights, I would. In two media appearances this spring, coach Lincoln Riley emphasized the need to add through the transfer portal on the offensive and defensive lines. USC has tried this spring — and… Read more »
Looking at the current roster the OL and DL seem big enough but young, mostly underclassmen. Lets hope enough of them are ready to go. It doesn’t seem like there is much left in the portal to get excited about. Chase Mitchell looks to be headed to Vandie.
The Athletic’s Antonio Morales literally referred to Mitchell as a “body”. I had to laugh.
Not sure I’ve ever seen a potential USC player addition referred to in such low-expectation terms. But I am sure I’ve never seen USC go after a Liberty Flame grad transfer from the trenches before. New territory for sure. Go Commodores!
Congrats Lady Trojans in your powerful victory in the Nattie. It was sweeter being against that team across town. The timing of this was sweet also as it takes some of the sting off the losses in the football portal players we were hoping to bring in. But that takes nothing away from the joy and proudness of our Lady Beach Volleyball national champions. FIGHT ON!
Winning the Natty by crushing the bRUINS is so sweet. Congratulations to The Women of Troy!