USC
Oregon State
Players Mentioned
USC Volleyball Sweeps Away Oregon State
October 16, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
Final Stats | Notes | Final Statistics (PDF) 
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- The USC women's volleyball team (13-6, 5-3 Pac-12) defeated Oregon State (8-11, 1-7) in three sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-18) at Gill Coliseum on Sunday, Oct. 16. The Women of Troy earned their first sweep in Pac-12 play and remained undefeated in road matches (7-0 overall). The Trojans got double-doubles from both outside hitters to take down the Beavers in straight sets.
Freshman outside hitter Khalia Lanier earned her ninth double-double of the season and finished with 16 kills (5e, 38att, .289), 12 digs, two blocks, and a service ace. Sophomore outside hitter Alyse Ford had her third-career double-double with 12 kills (4e, 28att, .286), and 14 digs. At the other pin, junior opposite hitter Niki Withers logged seven kills.
Senior middle blocker Elise Ruddins tallied five kills without an error and hit .500 on 10 swings. Ruddins also shared match-high honors with seven blocks. Junior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie set a new career high with seven blocks to share match-high honors and added three kills. Defensively, senior libero Taylor Whittingham picked up 18 digs to go with a pair of service aces.
The Trojans hit .233 in the match (45k, 17e, 120att). Senior setter Alice Pizzasegola dished out 20 assists to go with six digs while junior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley had 19 assists, six digs, and a service ace.
For the Beavers, Lanesha Reagan and Mary-Kate Marshall each had 12 kills. Reagan finished with a double-double on a team-high 18 digs. Kayla Ellis had 14 digs. Lila Toner scored seven kills but was held to a .069 hitting rate.
Down, 8-7, in the first, the Trojans used a 4-0 run to seize a three-point lead at 11-8. The Beavers came only as close as two points the rest of the way as USC sewed up a 25-20 win in the opening frame. The Trojans led by as many as five points at 22-17 and grabbed set point at 24-19 on a kill by Withers. The teams traded service errors to close out the set.
In a set of runs, USC held a 6-3 lead early in set two, but a 5-0 run by the Beavers put Oregon State on top, 9-7. The Trojans stayed within striking distance and knotted the score at 14-all, but the Beavers rolled in front again at 18-17 on a kill by Marshall. The point was just the beginning of a 5-0 OSU run as the Trojans faced a five-point hole at 22-17. The teams swapped points for a 23-18 score before a kill by Lanier put Whittingham on the back line. Whittingham served the Trojans to a 7-0 run, which included an ace and three blocks by Ruddins and Abercrombie, to close out the second set, 25-23, for a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Trojans put together an early 6-1 run to go ahead, 8-3, in the third set. Oregon State chipped away at the USC lead and came within two at 12-10 and 13-11, but the Trojans pushed back to lead by five, 16-11. Ford earned back-to-back kills to get USC in front by six, 19-13, and Abercrombie's kill gave the Women of Troy their largest lead at seven points, 23-16. Reagan score back-to-back kills to keep USC at bay, but Meyer-Whalley went to Lanier twice, to secure the final two kills in the Trojans' 25-18 win.
Up next, USC returns to the Galen Center for four straight matches and gets started as host to California (Oct. 21) and Stanford (Oct. 23). The Trojans and the Golden Bears will appear on Pac-12 Los Angeles and Pac-12 Bay Area at 6 p.m. PT on Friday. The USC-Stanford match will be shown live on ESPNU on Sunday at 2 p.m. PT.
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. To purchase season and single-match tickets, please visit USCTrojans.com/tickets today. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Periscope, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
MATCH NOTES
- USC improved to 51-9 in all-time matches against Oregon State and won its third straight and nine of the last 10.
- The Women of Troy improved to 7-0 and remained undefeated in matches played on the road this season (including neutral-location matches).
- USC earned its first 3-0 sweep in Pac-12 matches this season and the first overall since Sept. 16 (vs. Maryland).
- The Trojans reached double digits in blocks for the eighth time this season and finished with 10.0 total.
- Senior libero Taylor Whittingham had 18 digs to push her career total to 1,527 and moved within 10 digs of fourth place in USC career history (Nancy Hillman, 1985-88; 1,536 digs).
- Whittingham had her 15th match this season in double digits for digs.
- Freshman OH Khalia Lanier recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 14 digs.
- Sophomore OH Alyse Ford had her third double-double of the season (and career) with 12 kills and 14 digs.
- Junior OPP Brittany Abercrombie set a new career high with seven blocks.
