The No. 1 seeded USC Trojans came into the 2017 NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball tournament as the reigning National Champions and left as champs again after a 3-2 win over the No. 3 seeded Pepperdine Waves in the final
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GULF SHORES, Ala. — The No. 1 seeded USC Trojans came into the 2017 NCAA Women’s Beach Volleyball tournament as the reigning National Champions and left as champs again after a 3-2 win over the No. 3 seeded Pepperdine Waves in the final set Sunday in Gulf Shores.
Each team played well including the No. 7 seeded LSU Tigers by making it to the second round of the elimination round and the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles who made to the third round before losing to No. 5 Hawaii. The 4th round match between Hawaii and Florida State will be remembered as a classic for having a tied 2-2 match before Hawaii knocked FSU out.
On Saturday, USC swept the Waves with a 3-0 score but in the National Championship game, Pepperdine gave USC a hard-fought matchup. The Waves were able to make a 2-2 tied game against the Trojans where the match would be decided on court three. s Nicolette Martin and Terese Cannon clinched the game with a 15-12 set win for USC’s title repeat.
More than 6,000 people were in attendance for 2017, 1,000 more than last year’s inaugural championship. Kerri Walsh-Jennings who is a 5-time Olympian, 4-time medalist and 3-time Gold medalist for the U.S in Beach Volleyball was on hand.
“If you look around, you can see why we’re here,” she said about the city of Gulf Shores hosting this event for years to come. “It’s so beautiful and just the entire ambiance here is perfect.”
Walsh-Jennings also praised the city of Gulf Shores for their dedication and partnership with the NCAA to host this tournament. She will be an ambassador to the sport of collegiate beach volleyball.
USC finished at 38-1 with their third straight national championship (AVCA 2015) and the school’s 127th overall team title. The beach crown gives USC 104 all-time NCAA team championships and is the school’s 20th women’s NCAA title. Runner-up Pepperdine closed out at 27-5.