TCU
#3 USC
TCU Drops Match to No. 3 USC
3/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Beach Volleyball
FORT WORTH, Texas - Playing under the lights of the Merle Norman Stadium, the TCU sand volleyball team fought hard but ultimately fell 5-0 to No. 3 USC on Thursday night in Los Angeles, Calif.
The Horned Frogs (0-9) battled their third straight top-5 ranked opponent in the Trojans (1-0) and played in their final dual match before the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge.
"The scores might not reflect it, but this is the best day we've had in the sand," head coach Erik Peterson said. "We did a great job of hitting hard, aggressive spikes and our shot placement was the best it's been so far. We're looking forward to taking this progress into our final tournament this weekend and finishing strong."
The match opened with the bottom three pairs taking the courts, with the Trojans claiming straight-set victories on two of the courts. On the exhibition courts, Sarita Mikals and Mia Swanegan took the opening set, 21-19, but USC fought back to take the close second set, 22-20. In the decisive third set, the Trojans proved to have what it took to close out the match, 15-13.
Mikals totaled 18 kills in the match, while also picking up 14 digs and serving up four aces. Swanegan finished with 12 kills, seven blocks and five service aces.
In the next set of matches that featured the top three doubles pairs, USC was able to take the wins on all three courts in straight sets. Shane Peters on court one and Sutton Sunstrum on court three led the Frogs with eight kills apiece, while Sunstrum and Macy Capen notched eight digs each.
TCU will wrap-up its inaugural season by competing in the USAV Beach Collegiate Challenge on March 14-15 in Chula Vista, Calif.
#3 USC 5, TCU 0
No. 1: Kelly Claes/Sara Hughes (USC) def. Natalie Gower/Shane Peters (TCU): 21-14, 21-8
No. 2: Sophie Bukovec/Alexa Strange (USC) def. Macy Capen/Ashley Smith (TCU): 21-13, 21-15
No. 3: Eve Ettinger/Meg Norton (USC) def. Alexia Heist/Sutton Sunstrum (TCU): 21-9, 21-11
No. 4: Nicolette Martin/Allie Wheeler (USC) def. Sarah Grantham/Blaire Pickens (TCU): 21-15, 21-9
No. 5: Jo Kremer/Bria Russ (USC) def. Chyanne Perkins/Chyna Perkins (TCU): 21-8, 21-15
No. 6: Paige Hines/Alexa Stonish (USC) def. Sarita Mikals/Mia Swanegan (TCU): 19-21, 22-20, 15-13
