This post was updated May 7 at 9:43 p.m.

Once again, in the world of beach volleyball, it came down to two teams: the Bruins and the Trojans. 

In Sunday’s national championship game, it came down to one court, one set and one former Trojan. 

USC previously held four titles to its name, and UCLA had claimed two. In the seven-year history of the NCAA tournament, only these two teams have been named national champions. No. 3 seed USC (32-5) took down No. 1 seed UCLA beach volleyball (40-4) in the national championship 3-2 on Sunday in Gulf Shores, Alabama, marking the Trojans’ third consecutive national title and fifth overall.

Coach Stein Metzger emphasized the importance of the team’s bond moving forward from the loss.

“We can reflect on the closeness of this team and the bond that this team has and what a great season we’ve had,” Metzger said. “You can’t focus on winning a title at this point. It really brings into clarity what the relationships mean to each other.” 

After giving up the first two dual points to USC on courts two and four, the Bruins were left to prevent a loss on courts one, three and five. 

Both of the first two courts battled back and forth for the set point, evading the elusive two-point difference needed to claim their respective first sets. 

Graduate student Marlie Monserez and sophomore Jessie Smith were the first to fall, losing in straight sets 22-20, 21-14. That loss was followed by a back and forth between the Trojans and Bruins on court two, with graduate student Abby Van Winkle and junior Peri Brennan losing the first and ultimately dropping the third set to give up another dual point. 

The Bruins stayed focused on collecting wins where possible.

“We knew that even going down 0-2, the only thing we could control was our court, and that’s what we did,” said senior Lexy Denaburg. 

Court one – featuring Denaburg and freshman Maggie Boyd – and court five, with graduate student Jaden Whitmarsh and senior Devon Newberry, kept the Bruins alive by clinching the Bruins’ two dual points with sweeping 2-0 victories. 

That left court three, made up of senior Rileigh Powers and graduate student – and former Trojan – Haley Hallgren.

Hallgren highlighted the talent of both teams when discussing the outcome of the rivalry matchup. 

“We’ve beaten them the last couple times, and I really think we were capable of doing it again today,” Hallgren said. “But, unfortunately, the wind played a big factor, and they were able to squeak out on top.”

Hallgren and Powers lost their first set to USC 21-18, but after battling for set point three different times, the duo clinched the second set 21-19. 

With the title on the line in the third set, both pairs traded back-and-forth blows and kept the score within reach. Powers started off strong in the third set, notching several powerful kills that the Trojans could not respond to. 

“We never gave up; we never let a ball drop without trying,” Hallgren said. “We had a lot of comebacks because of our mentality and the way we approached the game.”

But after several errors, including kills not reaching over the net and misserves, USC’s twin duo of Audrey and Nicole Nourse deepened its lead on court three. 

All of a sudden, the lead was 14-11 in favor of the Trojans, and the Nourse twins capitalized on their first set point to clinch the victory. 

Despite a hard-fought effort and comeback by Hallgren and Powers, the Trojans came out on top once again. 

“Unfortunately, today didn’t go our way, but I’m still just so proud of the way that she (Powers) battled and what we were able to do on the court,” Hallgren said.

This was the third time since 2019 that UCLA and USC vied for the national championship, with the Bruins unable to add to their 2018 and 2019 hardware. 

Looking ahead, the Bruins are hoping to build upon the foundational strength of the team next season.

“We have the right recipe,” Metzger said. “Both coaches and the players, current and past, have built a great culture, and we don’t need to do anything different.”