No. 3 USC beach volleyball co-hosted the second day of the Battle for Los Angeles on Saturday, defeating the No. 16 Washington Huskies and No. 8 Long Beach State, both by a score of 4-1.
The Trojans came into the day 6-2 after defeating both Pepperdine and Concordia on Friday and were looking to extend their home winning streak to 30 duals. They came into the day 10-0 all time against Washington and on a 16-game win streak vs. Long Beach State.
Despite the sun hidden behind the clouds for the majority of the dual, spirits were high. In the first matchup of the dual, all of the matches were highly contested when the Trojans took on Washington. On Court 1, freshman Kennedy Coakley and sophomore Ashley Pater played a tight match but were ultimately defeated 21-19 in the first set and 21-18 in the second.
But the Trojans battled back. USC won its next four matches, with a clinching performance from graduate Ella Larkin and freshman Calinda Kok, who lost their opening set 23-25 but bounced back, winning the next two sets 21-18 and 15-11.
“Just rely and trust your partner,” Larkin said when asked about how to not lose confidence after a slow start. “I feel like that’s the biggest thing when you’re out there, when you’re in your head, when you’re trying to get out of your head.”
The second match of the day featured the then 7-2 Trojans and 2-1 Long Beach State. Similar to the Washington matchup, the games were close. Despite losing their first match against Washington, Coakley and Pater were able to bounce back after losing the first set to the Beach, winning 21-15 and 17-15 in the final two sets.
The Trojans did not stop there. With victories from junior Delaney Karl and sophomore Kaileigh Truslow, junior Madison White and sophomore Zoey Henson, and another clinching victory from Larkin and Kok, the Trojans went on to secure a 4-1 victory and improve their record to 8-2, riding a seven-game winning streak.
Although it is only the beginning of March, the Trojans were celebrating Senior Day as this weekend was the only weekend that they will host a tournament all season.
After the final match was played, four graduating members of the team were celebrated on Court 2. As part of the ceremony, graduates Maya Gessner and Larkin and graduating juniors Bailey Showalter and Gabby Walker were accompanied by their loved ones and given a memorabilia jersey as well as flowers.
Larkin talked about the meaning of an early Senior Day and playing her final home game this season.
“It’s like fire. It’s like momentum. I’m trying to bring it into the rest of the season, to just be a good one and have fun with it,” Larkin said.
Head coach Dain Blanton spoke about the fact that the Trojans have no more home duals for the rest of the season and how they plan to deal with that adversity.
“A light home schedule this year and it won’t affect us at all,” Blanton said. “We have an advantage anytime you play at home so when you’re on the road, it’s a little more challenging…but we’re battle tested and ready for all those things.”
Battle tested is right. The Trojans have won four straight titles dating back to 2021 and their roster is loaded with championship experience.
USC looks to extend its winning streak when the team travels to Stanford next weekend on March 7 and March 8 to take on Grand Canyon, Berkeley, Stanford and Oregon.