Beach volleyball will be featured at the 2024 Olympics, which will run from Friday, July 26 to Sunday, August 11. The U.S. team will be represented by two teams of four men and four women. The women's pairings will be Taryn Cross and Kristen Nass, and Kelly Chen and Sarah Hughes, while the men's pairings will be Andy Benesh and Miles Partin, and Chase Budinger and Miles Evans.
Let's take a look back at the collegiate history of the U.S. beach volleyball team.
woman
Taryn Cross | LSU
Taryn Cross played two years of beach volleyball at Louisiana State University and four years of indoor volleyball at Creighton University. Indoors, she was named Big East Championship MVP in 2017 and led Creighton to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2016. During her time at Louisiana State, Cross went 36-0 in 2021 and earned AVCA Pairs of the Year and All-American honors in beach volleyball.
Kristen Nass | LSU
Nass was a cross country pair at Louisiana State University, but spent her entire career with the Tigers. During her sophomore season, Nass and Claire Coppola became the first pair in Louisiana State University history to be named All-Americans. By 2020, Nass and Coppola were the third pair in NCAA history to achieve 100 victories. She finished her super senior season with 136 victories, making her the winningest player in college beach volleyball history.
Kelly Chen | Southern California
Kelly Chen was a three-time All-American at USC where she and Sarah Hughes compiled a record of 147-4. Chen also won the first ever two NCAA beach volleyball titles in 2016 and 2017 and was undefeated as a pair in their junior season, losing only one set.
Sarah Hughes | Southern California
Sarah Hughes was a four-time All-American at the University of Southern California. Hughes and Kelly Chen compiled a 147-4 record and won the first two NCAA beach volleyball titles in history in 2016 and 2017. In Hughes' junior season, the pair was undefeated and only lost one set. Prior to competing in NCAA volleyball, Hughes compiled an 86-7 record over her freshman and sophomore seasons.
male
Andy Benesh | Southern California
Andy Benesh played volleyball at the University of Southern California from 2014-2017, recording 658 kills (.415 hitting percentage), 346 blocks, 191 digs and 43 aces in 99 games. She was named an Honorable Mention All-American in 2015 and a Freshman All-American in 2014.
Miles Partin | UCLA
Miles Partin is 22 years old and is the youngest U.S. beach volleyball player in Olympic history. He played at UCLA from 2021-2023, leading the nation with a .373 batting average as a sophomore. In 2022, he helped the Bruins reach the NCAA semifinals and recorded 1,040 assists, earning him MPSF Player of the Year honors.
Chase Budinger | Arizona
Chase Budinger was selected 44th overall in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft after playing college basketball at the University of Arizona. Budinger played in the NBA from 2009 to 2016 and overseas from 2016 to 2017. Budinger retired from basketball in 2017 and made his professional volleyball debut in 2018.
Miles Evans | University of California, Santa Barbara
Miles Evans played volleyball for two years at UC Santa Barbara before becoming a professional beach volleyball player. During his time at UC Santa Barbara, Evans led the team with 514 kills, 325 kills and 261 digs in his junior season. He was also a capable front row defender and recorded 95 blocks as an outside hitter.
