- There were several worthy pairs, which posted undefeated records with wins over ranked foes, but the Court 1 pairing of Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina earns our pick for VolleyMob Pair of the Week, helping No. 4 USC to a perfect 4-0 record at the Pac-12 South Invitational.
Bustamante, a 6-0 junior from Redondo Beach, California, and Graudina, a 6-0 rookie from Jurmala, Latvia, earned all-tournament team honors for their efforts. The duo moved to 13-1 on the season, picking up four wins, all in straight sets, including three over Top 20 teams.
Bustamante, an All-Pac-12 Freshman Team honoree in 2016, went 28-7 at No. 4 with Jenna Belton that season. She followed with a 23-8 mark at No. 3 (2-0 with Sophie Bukovec) and No. 4 (21-8; 18-6 with Joy Dennis; 3-2 with Katrina Kernochan).
USC went 4-0 on the week, topping No. 16 California (3-2), Arizona State (4-1), No. 11 Arizona (4-1) and No. 14 Stanford (5-0). The Women of Troy are now 15-6 on the season heading into the Pepperdine Invitational on Saturday, where the team will face Saint Mary’s, Loyola Marymount and No. 1 Pepperdine.
Results
3/24/18 def. Alexia Inman/MimaMirkovic (#16 California) 21-15, 21-12
3/24/18 def. Kwyn Johnson/Mia Rivera (Arizona State) 21-16, 21-13
3/25/18 def. Natalie Anselmo/Olivia Macdonald (#11 Arizona) 21-9, 25-23
3/25/18 def. Kathryn Plummer/Sunny Villapando (#14 Stanford) 21-18, 21-16
VolleyMob Beach Pairs of the Week
Feb. 27 – Francesca Goncalves/Sara Putt, Florida State
March 6 – Skylar Caputo/Alexis Filippone, Pepperdine
March 13 – Federica Frasca/Margherita Bianchin, Florida International
March 20 – Morgan Martin/Lea Monkhouse, Hawaii
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