No. 17 USC Hosts Devils and Cats at Galen Center

LOS ANGELES – Following four straight road matches, 17th-ranked USC (16-7, 8-4 Pac-12) returns to Galen Center to play its next four at home. It's Homecoming Week at Troy as the Trojans prepare to host a pair of unranked opponents in Arizona State (10-14, 0-12) and Arizona (9-13, 3-9). The Trojans and the Sun Devils face off on Friday (Nov. 3) at 7 p.m. PT and USC-Arizona goes off at 11 a.m. on Sunday (Nov. 5) on the Pac-12 Networks. The Trojans are 6-1 in matches played at Galen Center this fall with the only loss to Stanford (Oct. 15).

USC is stacked at the pins and relies heavily on sophomore OH Khalia Lanier (4.08 kps) who has been sidelined for the last four matches. OPP Brittany Abercrombie (3.22 kps), OPP Niki Withers (2.66 kps), OH Alyse Ford (2.49 kps), OH Daley Krage (1.62 kps), and OH Brooke Botkin (1.80 kps) are also proven scoring threats. Senior captain Jordan Dunn (1.00 bps) and Brittany Welsh (1.40 pps) occupy the middle of the net. Setters Reni Meyer-Whalley (6.25 aps) and Cindy Marina (5.42 aps) run USC's 6-2 system in which libero Victoria Garrick puts up 4.05 digs per set.

MATCH #24
No. 17 USC (16-7, 8-4) vs. Arizona State (10-14, 0-12)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
Friday, Nov. 3 • 7 p.m. PT
Series Record: USC leads, 68-13-1 (.829)
Last Meeting: W, 3-1 (Oct. 7, 2017 • Tempe, Ariz.)
Current Streak: Won 5 • Last 10 Meetings: 8-2
Stream: Pac-12+ (Paul Duchesne & Rich Lambourne)
Opponent Website: TheSunDevils.com

MATCH #25
No. 17 USC (16-7, 8-4) vs. Arizona (9-12, 3-9)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
Sunday, Nov. 5 • 11 a.m. PT
Series Record: USC leads, 62-22 (.738)
Last Meeting: L, 3-0 (Oct. 6, 2017 • Tucson, Ariz.)
Current Streak: Lost 3 • Last 10 Meetings: 6-4
TV: Pac-12 N/LA/A (Kevin Barnett & Tammy Blackburn)
Opponent Website: ArizonaWildcats.com

FIRST SERVE

USC rose two spots in the latest AVCA poll to No. 17. Arizona and Arizona State each enter the week unranked.
The Trojans will honor members of the 1976 and 1977 AIAW National Championship squads during the Arizona State match on Friday (Nov. 3).
The Women of Troy are 6-1 at Galen Center this season (145-31 all-time).
In 12 of the preceding 16 years under head coach Mick Haley, the Trojans have posted at least the same or better record in the back half of conference matches as they have in the front half.
USC owns five wins over ranked opponents this season: No. 6 Washington, at No. 7 Creighton, at No. 11 UCLA, at No. 12 Utah, and No. 16 Michigan.

LAST TIME OUT: Without OH Khalia Lanier for the third and fourth consecutive matches, the Trojans were highly effective on the road and pushed 14th-ranked Washington to five sets before falling, 32-30, in the fourth; and 15-12, in the fifth. Despite the loss, USC regrouped and put a pounding on Washington State to come away with a 3-0 sweep including 25-16 and 25-13 results in the second and third sets. Freshman OH Brooke Botkin broke out and started each match for the Trojans. She logged career highs of 20 kills and 57 attacks against the Huskies and produced her first-career double-double with 20 kills and 10 digs.

1,000 SHIPS: USC's win over Arizona State on Oct. 5, 2016, was the program's 1,000th all-time victory. The Trojans became just the 17th program in NCAA Division I women's volleyball history to reach the 1K milestone. USC is the owner of six national championships (three AIAW and three NCAA) and has won eight conference crowns including two since the inception of the Pac-12 (2011 and 2015). Head coach Mick Haley has led USC to each of its 100-win milestones since the program's 600th victory. The Trojans won their 800th, 900th, and 1,000th all in home matches under Haley's direction.

BUT FIRST, LET ME TAKE A #SELFIE: Get social with the Women of Troy this season. Fans can follow and interact with the USC women's volleyball team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Periscope by searching for @USCWomensVolley.

LINE DANCING: The Women of Troy have used 10 different starting lineups this season. No player can claim to have started all 23 matches, but three have appeared in all 88 sets for the Trojans: OPP Brittany Abercrombie, and setters Reni Meyer-Whalley and Cindy Marina. Defensive specialist Jenna Adams has played in all but one set for USC.

A LONG TIME (HOME)COMING: This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first two national championships won by the Women of Troy. USC claimed AIAW crowns in 1976 and 1977 under head coach Chuck Erbe. The '76 Trojans went 34-1 (8-0 in WCAA matches) before defeating rival UCLA in Austin, Texas, for the national title. In 1977, USC was unblemished to finish 38-0 (8-0 WCAA) and defeated Hawai'i in Provo, Utah, to claim the second of back-to-back championships. USC will honor members of both squads at the break of the USC-Arizona State match on Nov. 3, the weekend of Homecoming on campus.

900 CLUB: USC head coach Mick Haley ranks third in career NCAA Division I victories (948) among active coaches behind only Penn State's Russ Rose and Navy's Larry Bock. Haley is in his 34th season as a Division I coach, but has 41 years of overall coaching experience and is 1,296-336-1 (.794) in all matches including men's and women's at Kellogg Community College.

HOME, SWEET HOME: The Trojans have enjoyed the comforts of home to the tune of a 145-31 (.824) all-time record at the Galen Center. When it comes to the volleyball court, the Women of Troy are less than hospitable to their visitors. The Trojans went 12-1 in home matches in 2011 and completed the 2012 home schedule with a 17-1 mark. In 2007, USC was 19-0 at home on the way to an appearance in the NCAA national semifinal match.

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Players Mentioned

Brittany Abercrombie

Jenna Adams

Brooke Botkin

Jordan Dunn

Alyse Ford

Victoria Garrick

Daley Krage

Khalia Lanier

Cindy Marina

Reni Meyer-Whalley

Brittany Welsh

Niki Withers