University Southern California Trojans
USC
17-0, 5-0Pac-12
Colorado
10-7, 2-3Pac-12
No. 1 USC Outruns Buffalo Stampede to Stay Unbeaten
October 09, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 9, 2015
Final Stats | Notes | Box Score (PDF) 
BOULDER, Colo. -- It took five sets, but the No. 1-ranked USC women's volleyball team (17-0, 5-0 Pac-12) used a balanced attack to maintain its unblemished record with a 3-2 win (21-25, 29-27, 27-29, 25-16, 15-7) over Colorado (10-7, 2-3) at the Coors Events Center on Friday, Oct. 9. The Women of Troy moved to 17-0 to begin a season for the fourth time under head coach Mick Haley and are off to the best start since the 2006 Trojans also went 17-0.
For the first time this season, the Trojans dropped the opening set of a match, but came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat an opponent on the road for the second time (Stanford, Sept. 27). The Women of Troy came to life in the fourth and fifth sets and were powered by a 10-kill performance from senior outside hitter Samantha Bricio down the stretch. Bricio became the third Trojan ever to cross the 1,700-kill mark and moved into third all-time in program history now with 1,712 career kills (Jasmina Marinkovic; 1,699 kills from 1995-98).
Bricio finished with 17 kills (9e, 64att, .125) despite a slow start to the match. She also added 11 digs to log her seventh double-double of the season (48th career) and had four blocks (one solo) to lead USC with 19.5 points. Bricio was just one of four Trojans with at least 15 kills in the match. The other three set career highs including fellow senior Alicia Ogoms. The middle blocker had 15 kills (2e, 30att) and hit .433 to go with six blocks and five digs (18.0 points).
Sophomore opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie was devastating from the right side with 15 kills (2e, 35att) on a .371 hitting percentage. She also added a career-best seven digs and matched her career high with five blocks (one solo) for 18.0 points. On the other end of the net, freshman Alyse Ford set a new career mark with 15 kills (6e, 37att, .243) to go with a career-best seven digs and 15.0 points.
USC out-blocked the Buffaloes and finished with an 11.0-10.5 edge. The Trojans also out-hit Colorado, .250 to .173, thanks to the setting of junior Alice Pizzasegola and freshman Baylee Johnson. Pizzasegola tallied 25 assists to go with seven digs while Johnson picked up her sixth double-double of the season with a career-high 37 assists with 12 digs. Johnson also added six kills and a pair of blocks.
Junior libero Taylor Whittingham dug up a season-best 25 balls and served one of two USC aces. Freshman defender Victoria Garrick had seven digs and served the other Trojan ace. Junior middle blocker Elise Ruddins added six kills to USC's final tally and also had eight digs and three blocks.
For the Buffaloes, both Alexis Austin (16e, 70att, .071) and Gabby Simpson (8e, 53att, .245) finished with 21 kills apiece to lead Colorado's attack. Both Austin (10) and Simpson (16) reached double digits for digs to log double-doubles. Cierra Simpson led all players with a career-high 31 digs.
The Trojans led the first set, 7-5, but the Buffaloes rumbled through to take a 10-8 lead. USC could only tie the score a couple more times including at 12-all before Colorado maintained its distance to finish out a 25-21 victory. Sets two and three each ended at 29-27. USC won the second but Colorado took the third. Each set had eight lead changes and were tied 22 and 18 times respectively.
In the second, USC fought off three set points and scored the final three points, which included back-to-back kills by Abercrombie, to finish out the 29-27 victory. In the third, the Trojans had their chances to win but the Buffaloes broke away from two set points and prevailed with their own 29-27 win to put USC on the ropes.
The fourth frame started out close, but an 8-2 USC run quickly turned a three-all tie into an 11-5 lead for the Trojans. The Buffaloes scored two, but with Ruddins back to serve, the Women of Troy ripped open a 10-point lead at 18-8. Colorado had some fight left in it and pulled within seven twice (20-13 and 22-15), but USC stood fast and claimed a 25-16 win on a kill by Ford to push the match to a fifth set. Bricio came to life in the fourth and finished with six kills (1e, 11att) while Ogoms had four kills on nine swings without an error.
USC wasted little time establishing control of the fifth set as the Trojans rolled out to a 4-0 lead. Colorado never got any closer than two points as back-to-back kills by Ford and Johnson put a 10-5 lead on the board for USC. Bricio went 4-of-6 and the Trojans hit .389 in the final set to outpace Colorado's .000 outing (6k, 6e, 22att) and won, 15-7, going away. The Women of Troy put up three blocks in the final set including for the final point as Ogoms and Abercrombie teamed to stuff Austin and seal the match victory.
Up next, the Trojans visit Utah (7-9, 1-4 Pac-12) on Sunday (Oct. 11) for a 1 p.m. MT (noon PT) match at the Jon Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. The Utes dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 12 UCLA earlier today. The USC-Utah match will be streamed live for free on the Utah Pac-12 Networks portal. Please visit USCTrojans.com or UtahUtes.com for links.
To purchase season or single-match tickets for USC home matches, visit GetTrojanTix.com or call (213) 740-GOSC. For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule, please visit USCTrojans.com and follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Periscope.
MATCH NOTES
- USC improved to 11-0 in all-time matches against Colorado.
- The Buffaloes won their first sets against the Trojans since joining the Pac-12 in 2011; the first set victories in the series history since 1997 when USC won, 3-2, in Los Angeles.
- Following the win (and a loss by Arizona State at Washington), USC became one of just two remaining unbeaten teams in the country (Kansas, 16-0).
- The Trojans improved to 87-8 all-time when ranked No. 1 in the AVCA poll.
- USC dropped the first set of a match for the first time this season.
- The Trojans came back to win, following a 2-1 deficit, for the second time this season; both times on the road.
- USC reached the 17-0 mark to start a season for the fourth time under head coach Mick Haley. The 17 wins matches the start by the 2006 squad. Only two Haley USC teams had longer streaks to start seasons: 2002 (19-0) and 2003 (35-0).
- The Trojans finished with 11.0 blocks and reached the 10-block mark for the seventh straight match; the ninth time this season.
- Senior OH Samantha Bricio finished with 17 kills and 11 digs to log her seventh double-double of the season and the 48th of her career.
- Bricio's fifth kill of the match moved her into third all-time at USC in career kills (1,712; 28th in Pac-12 history) as she went in front of Jasmina Marinkovic (1995-98; 1,699 kills). She is just the third Trojan ever to cross the 1,700-kill mark behind Alex Jupiter (1,918; 2008-11) and Jennifer Kessy (1,799; 1995-98).
- Senior MB Alicia Ogoms set new career highs with 15 kills, 30 attacks, and 18.0 points.
- Freshman OH Alyse Ford had her eighth straight match in double digits for kills (15); her 10th this season. The 15 kills set a new career high for Ford who also had career highs in attempts (37) and digs (7).
- Sophomore OPP Brittany Abercrombie put up new career marks with 15 kills, 35 attacks, 7 digs, and 18.0 points. She also matched a career mark with five blocks.
- Freshman setter Baylee Johnson produced her sixth double-double of the season and finished with a career-best 37 assists and 12 digs.
- Junior libero Taylor Whittingham had a season-high 25 digs to lead the Trojans.
