of a new era
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA will enter the 2016 season as the early favorite to win the first official NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship, primarily on the strength of the top returning doubles team in the country. Sara Hughes and Kelly Claes, the most heralded duo in the nation, give the Trojans a big advantage at the No. 1 spot with their experience not only at the collegiate level, but also with their professional record. Hughes, a junior, has won the the last two pairs
titles for the Trojans – wiining in 2014 with Kirby Burnham and the 2015 crown with Claes. After Hughes-Claes helped the Trojans go 28-0 and capture the team crown last May in Gulf Shores, Alabama (also the site of the 2016 official NCAA champion- ship) they posted a 9-4 match record on the AVP Tour.
The pair finished third in the AVP New York
Open and garnered a ninth at the prestigious AVP Manhattan Beach Open. It would have been worth $5,000 in prize money, but the players competed as amateurs and did not accept any prize money. Southern California will open the season March 5
against Hawaii and play perennial power Pepperdine the same day in the Pepperdine Invitational. The next day the Trojans will square off with Long
Beach State and UCLA in the same event, which will be an early-season indicator of which teams might qualify for the eight-team national championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 6-8. The first four AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball Championships, when the sport offered tournaments without NCAA status, were won by Pepperdine (twice), Long Beach State and Southern California.
Defending champ USC leads the way as collegiate beach volleyball enters its first NCAA season
Above: Sarah Sponcil of Loyola Marymount excels indoors (she was a honorable mention AVCA All- American last season) and out. Top right: Southern California’s Kelly Claes forms half of the nation’s top duo with Sara Hughes. Right: Junior Nikki Taylor adds power to Hawaii’s offense.
USAVOLLEYBALL.ORG | 73
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78