Sunday, October 22
Salt Lake City, UT
12:00 PM
USC
15-6, 7-3Pac-12
3
at
2
Utah
17-4, 8-2Pac-12
1
2
3
4
5
F
USC
21
28
20
25
15
3
Utah
25
26
25
21
9
2
Team Stats
USC
UTAH
Kills
69
63
Errors
36
33
Attempts
190
179
Hitting %
.174
.168
Points
89.0
78.0
Assists
65
60
Aces
2
1
Blocks
18.0
14.0
Game Leaders
Kills
22
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballNo. 19 USC Bounces Back to Bring Down No. 12 Utah in Five Sets
October 22, 2017 | Women's Volleyball, Features
The Women of Troy finished the front half of their Pac-12 schedule with a 7-3 record
SALT LAKE CITY – The 19th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (15-6, 7-3 Pac-12) went the distance to defeat 12th-ranked Utah (17-4, 8-2) in five sets (21-25, 28-26, 20-25, 25-21, 15-9) at the Jon Huntsman Center on Sunday, Oct. 22.
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The victory is the fifth over a ranked opponent this season for the Women of Troy who finished the front half of their conference schedule with a 7-3 mark. The Trojans improved to 5-1 in their last six trips to Salt Lake City and put an end to a short two-match skid. USC also snapped Utah's six-match winning streak.
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Senior opposite hitter Niki Withers powered the Trojan offense with a season-high 22 kills (10e, 40att) on a .300 hitting percentage and tallied four blocks and three digs on defense. USC's other senior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie poured in another 16 kills (7e, 40att, .225) to go with seven blocks. Without sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier for the second straight match, the Trojans got great production from junior outside Alyse Ford who racked up nine kills (3e, 24att, .250). Freshman outside hitter Brooke Botkin got her first-career start and put up seven kills to go with 12 digs and five blocks (all career bests).
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At the middle position, senior Jordan Dunn compiled eight kills (one short of her career mark) and hit .316 (2e, 19att) to go with five blocks. Junior Brittany Welsh had four kills without an error (11att, .364) and earned a career-high 12 blocks, including the solo block that clinched the victory for the Women of Troy. The 12 blocks are the most by a USC player since All-American middle blocker Alexis Olgard had 12 against Washington State on Nov. 16, 2013.
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In all, the Trojans out-blocked the Utes, 18-14. USC also out-hit Utah with a .174 hitting percentage (69k, 36e, 190att). The Utes hit .168 (63k, 33e, 179att). For the Women of Troy, senior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley posted her seventh double-double of the season (16th career) with 32 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore Cindy Marina dished out 24 assists and was one dig shy of a double-double with nine. Defensively, junior libero Victoria Garrick led the Trojans with 22 digs and had six assists. Sophomore defender Jenna Adams earned a career-high 14 digs and added the first kill of her career out of the back row. Adams and Marina each scored one of USC's two aces.
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For the Utes, Adora Anae had 14 kills (12e, 50att, .040); Berkeley Oblad had 13 kills (5e, 28att, .286); and Carly Trueman had 11 (5e, 31att, .194). Anae had the double-double with 16 digs.
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The Trojans came out firing on all cylinders and rolled out to an early 9-2 lead, but the Utes settled down and tied the score at 10-all. Utah used a 6-1 run to clear its path to a 25-21 win in the first set. Despite a slow start, the Utes finished the opening frame with a .316 hitting percentage and capitalized on USC errors to claim the win.
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USC fell behind early in the second set, but fought back to keep things close until a 4-0 Utah run put the Utes on top, 19-15. It wasn't nearly enough as the Trojans continued to push and knotted the score at 19-all. Anae's kill gave Utah set point at 24-23, but Botkin saved USC with her kill. It took extra points, but the Women of Troy came through with back-to-back kills to complete a 28-26 win and evened the match. Abercrombie had six kills and Withers had five in the second frame to help power the USC offense.
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Like it did in the first set, USC took an early lead in the third, but got caught at seven-all. The Trojans fell into a major slump and allowed Utah to rip through a 14-3 run for a massive 21-10 lead but an 8-2 response by the Women of Troy closed the gap to five points at 23-18. Again, it wasn't enough as the Utes closed the set with a kill by Oblad for a 25-20 win. The Trojans gave up 15 points on errors in the third frame to allow Utah to go up, 2-1, in the match.
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It appeared the Utes were prepared to close the match with a win in the fourth set on a 13-9 Utah lead, but the Trojans chipped away to tie the score at 14-all. Eight rallies later, the teams were still tied at 18, but the Women of Troy seized control with a short 3-0 burst. This time, Utah errors put the Utes behind the eight ball before Abercrombie terminated to wrap up a 25-21 win for the Trojans.
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USC carried its momentum into the fifth set and was rarely threatened on its way to a 15-9 win. Dunn and Botkin opened the frame with back-to-back kills followed by a Botkin-Welsh back-to-back combo. A 5-1 Trojan lead quickly ballooned to 10-5 on back-to-back kills by Ford and Withers. Another Ford kill put the Trojans up, 13-7, before Abercrombie's kill gave USC match point at 14-9. On the final rally, Garrick's serve put Oblad at the net for a one-on-one attack with Welsh. Welsh turned away the final Utah offering for the solo block to sew up the Trojans' five-set win.
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Up next, USC heads to the Pacific Northwest to face Washington on Friday (Oct. 27, 6 p.m. PT) at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle; and Washington State on Sunday (Oct. 29, 1 p.m. PT) at Bohler Gymnasium in Pullman, Wash. Both matches will be shown live on the Pac-12 Networks and streamed at Pac-12.com/live with authentication.
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For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Periscope, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
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MATCH NOTES
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The victory is the fifth over a ranked opponent this season for the Women of Troy who finished the front half of their conference schedule with a 7-3 mark. The Trojans improved to 5-1 in their last six trips to Salt Lake City and put an end to a short two-match skid. USC also snapped Utah's six-match winning streak.
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Senior opposite hitter Niki Withers powered the Trojan offense with a season-high 22 kills (10e, 40att) on a .300 hitting percentage and tallied four blocks and three digs on defense. USC's other senior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie poured in another 16 kills (7e, 40att, .225) to go with seven blocks. Without sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier for the second straight match, the Trojans got great production from junior outside Alyse Ford who racked up nine kills (3e, 24att, .250). Freshman outside hitter Brooke Botkin got her first-career start and put up seven kills to go with 12 digs and five blocks (all career bests).
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At the middle position, senior Jordan Dunn compiled eight kills (one short of her career mark) and hit .316 (2e, 19att) to go with five blocks. Junior Brittany Welsh had four kills without an error (11att, .364) and earned a career-high 12 blocks, including the solo block that clinched the victory for the Women of Troy. The 12 blocks are the most by a USC player since All-American middle blocker Alexis Olgard had 12 against Washington State on Nov. 16, 2013.
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In all, the Trojans out-blocked the Utes, 18-14. USC also out-hit Utah with a .174 hitting percentage (69k, 36e, 190att). The Utes hit .168 (63k, 33e, 179att). For the Women of Troy, senior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley posted her seventh double-double of the season (16th career) with 32 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore Cindy Marina dished out 24 assists and was one dig shy of a double-double with nine. Defensively, junior libero Victoria Garrick led the Trojans with 22 digs and had six assists. Sophomore defender Jenna Adams earned a career-high 14 digs and added the first kill of her career out of the back row. Adams and Marina each scored one of USC's two aces.
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For the Utes, Adora Anae had 14 kills (12e, 50att, .040); Berkeley Oblad had 13 kills (5e, 28att, .286); and Carly Trueman had 11 (5e, 31att, .194). Anae had the double-double with 16 digs.
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The Trojans came out firing on all cylinders and rolled out to an early 9-2 lead, but the Utes settled down and tied the score at 10-all. Utah used a 6-1 run to clear its path to a 25-21 win in the first set. Despite a slow start, the Utes finished the opening frame with a .316 hitting percentage and capitalized on USC errors to claim the win.
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USC fell behind early in the second set, but fought back to keep things close until a 4-0 Utah run put the Utes on top, 19-15. It wasn't nearly enough as the Trojans continued to push and knotted the score at 19-all. Anae's kill gave Utah set point at 24-23, but Botkin saved USC with her kill. It took extra points, but the Women of Troy came through with back-to-back kills to complete a 28-26 win and evened the match. Abercrombie had six kills and Withers had five in the second frame to help power the USC offense.
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Like it did in the first set, USC took an early lead in the third, but got caught at seven-all. The Trojans fell into a major slump and allowed Utah to rip through a 14-3 run for a massive 21-10 lead but an 8-2 response by the Women of Troy closed the gap to five points at 23-18. Again, it wasn't enough as the Utes closed the set with a kill by Oblad for a 25-20 win. The Trojans gave up 15 points on errors in the third frame to allow Utah to go up, 2-1, in the match.
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It appeared the Utes were prepared to close the match with a win in the fourth set on a 13-9 Utah lead, but the Trojans chipped away to tie the score at 14-all. Eight rallies later, the teams were still tied at 18, but the Women of Troy seized control with a short 3-0 burst. This time, Utah errors put the Utes behind the eight ball before Abercrombie terminated to wrap up a 25-21 win for the Trojans.
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USC carried its momentum into the fifth set and was rarely threatened on its way to a 15-9 win. Dunn and Botkin opened the frame with back-to-back kills followed by a Botkin-Welsh back-to-back combo. A 5-1 Trojan lead quickly ballooned to 10-5 on back-to-back kills by Ford and Withers. Another Ford kill put the Trojans up, 13-7, before Abercrombie's kill gave USC match point at 14-9. On the final rally, Garrick's serve put Oblad at the net for a one-on-one attack with Welsh. Welsh turned away the final Utah offering for the solo block to sew up the Trojans' five-set win.
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Up next, USC heads to the Pacific Northwest to face Washington on Friday (Oct. 27, 6 p.m. PT) at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle; and Washington State on Sunday (Oct. 29, 1 p.m. PT) at Bohler Gymnasium in Pullman, Wash. Both matches will be shown live on the Pac-12 Networks and streamed at Pac-12.com/live with authentication.
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For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Periscope, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
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MATCH NOTES
- USC improved to 17-3 in all-time meetings against Utah and to 8-1 as the road team.
- The victory completes the first half of USC's Pac-12 schedule with a 7-3 record.
- The Trojans defeated their fifth ranked opponent of the season (No. 16 Michigan; No. 7 Creighton; No. 11 UCLA; No. 6 Washington); the third time on the road.
- USC's win ended a six-match winning streak for the Utes and also ended a short two-match losing streak for the Trojans.
- The Women of Troy improved to 3-0 in five-set matches this season (at No. 11 UCLA; vs. Arkansas).
- Senior OPP Niki Withers earned a new USC-best 22 kills and added a new USC-high of 40 attacks. She holds higher career marks from her freshman season at Cal State Fullerton (2014).
- Senior S Reni Meyer-Whalley notched her seventh double-double of the season with 32 assists and 10 digs. It is the 16th double-double of her career.
- Junior MB Brittany Welsh logged a career-high 12 blocks (one solo). It is the highest single-match block total for a USC player since All-American MB Alexis Olgard had 12 against Washington State (Nov. 17, 2013).
- Sophomore DS Jenna Adams had a career-high 14 digs and added her first-career kill to her final line.
- Freshman OH Brooke Botkin got her first collegiate start and finished with career marks in kills (7), attacks (41), digs (12), and blocks (5).
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