No. 17 USC Faces Top-25 Foes at Galen Center

LOS ANGELES – The 17th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (18-7, 10-4 Pac-12) seeks to extend its three-match winning streak when top-25 foes Utah and Colorado visit Galen Center this week. The Trojans and the Utes (18-7, 9-5) will meet on Thursday (Nov. 9) at 6 p.m. PT, and be shown live on the Pac-12 Networks. USC and the Buffaloes will clash on Saturday (Nov. 11) for a 1 p.m. matinee matchup. USC relies heavily on sophomore OH Khalia Lanier (4.07 kps) and senior OPP Brittany Abercrombie (3.15 kps). OPP Niki Withers (2.60 kps), OH Alyse Ford (2.46 kps), and OH Brooke Botkin (1.88 kps) are also proven scoring threats. Captain Jordan Dunn (1.03 bps) and Brittany Welsh occupy the middle of the net. Setters Reni Meyer-Whalley (6.16 aps) and Cindy Marina (5.40 aps) run USC's 6-2 system in which libero Victoria Garrick puts up 3.93 digs per set.

MATCH #26
No. 17 USC (18-7, 10-4) vs. No. 15 Utah (18-7, 9-5)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
Thursday, Nov. 9 • 6 p.m. PT
Series Record: USC leads, 17-3 (.850)
Last Meeting: W, 3-2 (Oct. 22, 2017 • Salt Lake City)
Current Streak: Won 1 • Last 10 Meetings: 8-2
TV: Pac-12 LA/M (Kevin Barnett & Camryn Irwin)
Opponent Website: UtahUtes.com

MATCH #27
No. 17 USC (18-7, 10-4) vs. No. 25 Colorado (19-6, 9-5)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
Saturday, Nov. 11 • 1 p.m. PT
Series Record: USC leads, 14-1 (.933)
Last Meeting: L, 3-0 (Oct. 20, 2017 • Boulder, Colo.)
Current Streak: Lost 1 • Last 10 Meetings: 9-1
Stream: Pac-12+ (Paul Duchesne)
Opponent Website: CUBuffs.com

FIRST SERVE

USC is on a three-match winning streak. It has won at least three in a row on three other occasions this fall; the longest streak was five straight.
For the first time since Sept. 2, USC will face two ranked opponents on the same weekend (No. 7 Creighton, No. 13 Kentucky).
The Women of Troy are 8-1 at Galen Center this season (147-31 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.
Haley is two wins from his 1,300th career victory, which includes wins at Kellogg Community College (both men and women). Separately, he is the owner of 950 NCAA Division I wins with the Texas and USC women's teams.
The Trojans are two wins from reaching 20 for the 13th time under Haley.
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.

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.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trojans earned back-to-back wins over Arizona State (3-1) and Arizona (3-2) at Galen Center to extend to a three-match winning streak. Sophomore OH Khalia Lanier returned from a four-match absence to lead USC with her fifth double-double of the season on 20 kills and 13 digs against the Sun Devils. The Women of Troy had four players in double-digit kills and came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Wildcats and improved to 4-1 in five-set matches this season.

LINE DANCING: The Women of Troy have used 10 different starting lineups this season. No player can claim to have started all 25 matches, but three have appeared in all 97 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.

SHOW AND PROVE: In 12 of the previous 16 year under the direction of head coach Mick Haley, the Trojans have posted at least the same or better records in the back half of league play as they have in the front half. USC completed the front portion of the Pac-12 schedule with a 7-3 record this season. The last time the Trojans were 7-3, they went 8-2 to finish with a 15-5 mark in 2012.

900 CLUB: USC head coach Mick Haley ranks third in career NCAA Division I victories (950) 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 1,298-336-1 (.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 147-31 (.826) 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.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Women of Troy racked up non-conference tournament awards in the season's opening weekend (Aug. 25-26). Sophomore OH Khalia Lanier took home MVP honors and was joined on the USC/LMU All-Tournament Team by junior OH Alyse Ford and senior OPPs Brittany Abercrombie and Niki Withers. Lanier was also chosen to the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team for the second weekend of the season (Sept. 1-2). Lanier, senior MB Jordan Dunn, and junior libero Victoria Garrick were each named to the UCSB Thunderdome Classic all-tournament team. Lanier and Abercrombie rounded out the non-conference slate with selections to the Maryland Challenge all-tournament team. Lanier was the only Trojan to be chosen to all four pre-conference tournament teams.

PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Following the season's first weekend, sophomore OH Khalia Lanier was honored as the Pac-12's Offensive Player of the Week. It was her first-career POW award after having received one Freshman of the Week award in 2016. On Sept. 25, senior OPP Brittany Abercrombie (offensive) and junior L Victoria Garrick (defensive) were each named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first times in their careers. Abercrombie became the first Trojan to earn back-to-back selections as the Pac-12 Player of the Week since Samantha Bricio (2015) when she was chosen again on Oct. 2. The four selections for weekly honors bring USC's all-time total to 72, which ranks third in Pac-12 history.

AVCA POLL POSITION: The Trojans opened 2017 unranked in the AVCA's Preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll; the first time that USC has not stood inside the top 25 since the poll's inception in 1982. The program's previous lowest preseason ranking was No. 21 in 1999. USC entered the 2017 rankings in the first regular-season poll (Aug. 28) and were ranked No. 18. Overall, the Trojans have appeared in the poll 492 times and have held a spot among the poll's top 10 teams 312 times, which ranks seventh all-time. The Trojans have also held the No. 1 ranking 47 times previously, which is sixth all-time.

ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS: Four Benjamins to be exact. Head coach Mick Haley earned his 400th victory at USC on Sept. 16, 2016. As the winningest coach in program history, he is now 428-116 in 17 seasons for a .787 winning percentage. Haley surpassed legendary coach Chuck Erbe who logged a 310-121-3 record in 12 seasons as USC's head coach from 1976-77 and 1979-88. Haley's 300th win with Troy also gave him at least 300 wins at three different schools: Kellogg Community College, Texas, and USC.

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Players Mentioned

Brittany Abercrombie

Jenna Adams

Brooke Botkin

Jordan Dunn

Alyse Ford

Victoria Garrick

Khalia Lanier

Cindy Marina

Reni Meyer-Whalley

Brittany Welsh

Niki Withers