STANFORD, Calif. – The 14th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (20-8, 12-5 Pac-12) dropped a 3-0 decision (25-16, 25-12, 25-14) to No. 4 Stanford (23-3, 16-1) at Maples Pavilion on Wednesday, Nov. 15. The loss snapped the Trojans' five-match winning streak as the Cardinal clinched the outright Pac-12 title.
 
Senior opposite hitter Niki Withers led the Trojans with nine kills. Fellow senior right side Brittany Abercrombie tallied eight kills and had two blocks. Senior middle blocker Jordan Dunn had three kills and three blocks. Sophomore setter Cindy Marina dished out 14 assists and had four digs.
 
USC hit .023 in the match (29k, 27e, 88att) while Stanford posted a .461 outing with 40 kills (5e) on 76 swings. Kathryn Plummer led all players with 11 kills (1e, 20att, .500). Audriana Fitzmorris had six kills and hit .500 to go with 10 blocks (one solo). Jenna Gray put up 37 assists, had a service ace, and three digs.
 
Stanford controlled the first set from start to finish to get a 25-16 win. The Cardinal scored 15 kills (1e) on just 23 swings to hit .609 in the opening frame, which saw each team collect just five digs apiece. USC hit .174 with 10 kills led by Withers' four-kill performance.
 
The Cardinal led by as many as 15 points in the second set at 24-9, but the Trojans saved three set points before Stanford could close out a 25-12 win. The Cardinal put up another plus-.500 hitting performance with 15 kills (1e) on 26 attacks for a .538 finish. The Cardinal also used six blocks to help hold the Women of Troy to a .000 outing (9k, 9e, 31att).
 
Stanford put a death-grip on the third set when it raced out to a 10-0 lead and was never threatened en route to a 25-14 win. The Trojans scored three in a row at one point to trim the lead to six at 16-10, but Stanford pushed back to get a 22-12 lead before Plummer scored the final point of the match to seal the sweep.
 
Up next, USC heads to the East Bay to face California (13-14, 4-12) on Friday, Nov. 17, at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. The Trojans and the Golden Bears will be streamed live on the Pac-12+ platform with first serve set for 6 p.m. PT.
 
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.
 
MATCH NOTES

• USC fell to 26-63-1 in its all-time series with Stanford and has now lost four straight to the Cardinal.
• The Trojans had their five-match winning streak snapped.
• The Stanford win secured the outright Pac-12 championship for the Cardinal.
• The Women of Troy hit a season-low .023 (29k, 27e, 88att).
• Stanford posted 15.0 blocks in the match, the highest by a USC opponent this season.