USC Beach Volleyball: Behind The Scenes of Trojans' 4-Peat

The Cardinal and Gold made a meal of the UCLA Bruins in May.

Mar 4, 2017; Malibu, CA, USA; USC Trojans beach volleyball Kelly Claes (3) serves during her match against the UCLA Bruins today at Zuma Beach. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The USC Trojans women's beach volleyball team probably reached "dynasty" status when they claimed their third consecutive national title in 2023. Now that they've won four straight after their latest championship this spring, however, that pretty much cements their legendary status in the history of the school.

Making the victory all the sweeter was the fact that the Trojans took down their crosstown arch rivals, the UCLA Bruins, on May 5 in Gulf Shores, Alabama, to capture the title.

“You see three-peats every once in a while,” head coach Dain Blanton said, per Ryan Kartje of The Los Angeles Times. “But you don’t see four-peats anywhere. Not in the modern day of any sport.”

He was an All-American indoor volleyball star while at Pepperdine, and won a 1992 national championship. He earned an Olympic gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and was overall the first -ever two-time male Olympian in beach volleyball. Though he had previously served as a coach for various pairs, including world champs Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng, he hadn't led an NCAA program before being brought on to lead USC in 2018.

Blanton replaced another USC legend, Anna Collier, a two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year and three-time national champoin during her eight seasons with the club.

Blanton had been an ESPN volleyball commentator while also moonlighting as a coach for pairs, but felt like he needed to at least make a bid for the job when Collier retired.

“I felt very strongly that Dain should be the guy,” Collier said. She had apparently made those feelings known to USC higher-ups, too.

“I always knew he would do this,” Collier raved of his success. “There’s no end in my eyes for him at USC. I think he can stay there the rest of his life, if he wants to.”

“There’s no ceiling on USC beach volleyball,” 2024 team captain Nicole Nourse reflected. “I think they could go for five next year. Maybe six.”

Kartje singles out Blanton's tactical maneuvering with the organization of the Trojans' pairs. “Those nuances are the differences between good coaching and great coaching,” Blanton noted. “That relationship, where you know what your players need, you have to have your finger on the pulse, or you’re in trouble.”

Blanton's winning ways will not last forever, perhaps, but his ability to win with so much disparate talent across four consecutive seasons is a clear testament that he's the cream of the crop when it comes to beach volleyball coaching.

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