Thursday, November 9
Los Angeles, CA
6:00 PM
USC
19-7, 11-4Pac-12
3
vs
1
Utah
18-8, 9-6Pac-12
1
2
3
4
F
Utah
21
17
25
22
1
USC
25
25
18
25
3
Team Stats
UTAH
USC
Kills
44
56
Errors
23
24
Attempts
136
158
Hitting %
.154
.203
Points
57.0
71.0
Assists
42
53
Aces
2
5
Blocks
11.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballPhoto by: Jon Kondrath
No. 17 USC Upends No. 15 Utah For Fourth Straight Victory
November 09, 2017 | Women's Volleyball, Features
The Women of Troy were led by sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier’s 17-kill performance in a win over the Utes
LOS ANGELES – The 17th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (19-7, 11-4 Pac-12) defeated No. 15 Utah (18-8, 9-6) in four sets (25-21, 25-17, 18-25, 25-22) at Galen Center on Thursday, Nov. 9. The Women of Troy won their fourth straight match and handed the Utes their fifth loss in six contests.
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The Trojans were led by sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier who had 17 kills (3e, 46att) and hit .304 in the match to go with nine digs and a block. Senior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie collected 16 kills (6e, 45att) with a .222 hitting percentage and had three digs and three blocks. Senior opposite Niki Withers added 11 kills (4e) on 24 swings for a .292 hitting rate with three blocks.
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Freshman outside hitter Brooke Botkin tallied 10 kills (4e, 27att, .222) and had four digs, three blocks (one solo), and a service ace in the match. Senior middle blocker Jordan Dunn led all players with seven blocks and had two kills.
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The Women of Troy hit .203 as a team and had 56 kills (24e) on 158 attempts. Senior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley dished out 32 assists to go with 12 digs to score her ninth double-double of the season (18th of her career). Sophomore setter Cindy Marina had 15 assists with seven digs and served up three aces. Junior libero Victoria Garrick had 19 digs to lead all players and picked up three assists.
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For the Utes, Adora Anae led the way with 15 kills, but had 11 errors on 44 swings for a .091 hitting rate. Anae led Utah with 18 digs for a double-double. Kenzie Koerber had nine kills (1e, 26att, .308) to go with six blocks (one solo) and Berkeley Oblad scored six kills (5e, 14att, .071) to go with four blocks. Utah hit .154 in the match (44k, 23e, 136att).
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The first set was tied for the 10th time when the Trojans and the Utes traded service errors, but Withers went crosscourt for a kill and then Lanier earned a kill out of the pipe for a 21-19 USC lead. The teams traded points once more before Dunn's overpass kill set the Trojans up at 23-21 before Abercrombie tipped one and went down the line for another to close out a 25-21 USC win. The Trojans hit .238 in the opening frame and got six kills from Abercrombie to secure the win.
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The Trojans never trailed in the second set and were tied just once at nine-all. Marina's service ace put USC on top by three, 14-11, but a 4-0 run with kills by Lanier, Withers, and back-to-back blocks by Dunn pushed USC ahead by six at 18-12. The Utes made a push and trimmed the lead to five once, but Botkin and Lanier racked up consecutive kills for a 22-15 Trojan lead. Lanier earned another kill before a Utah error set the Trojans up with set point at 24-16. The Utes saved one before Lanier crushed another crosscourt shot for the final kill in a 25-17 win. USC hit .297 in the second set to outpace Utah's .062 outing.
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Utah used a 4-0 run to build a five-point lead at 11-6 in the third set and never looked back. The Ute lead ballooned to eight at 15-7, and was eight again at 19-11 on another Anae kill. The Trojans made moves to trim the lead to five on consecutive kills by Abercrombie and Botkin, but Koerber's crosscourt termination ended a 25-18 win for Utah. The Utes scored on four blocks in the third set and held the Women of Troy to a .188 hitting rate while hitting .367 themselves.
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Botkin scored four of her kills in the span of six rallies to help the Trojans break the seventh tie of the fourth set and take a 12-8 lead. USC kept the Utes at bay and extended that lead to six points at 20-14 on a block by Botkin and junior middle blocker Brittany Welsh. Utah was unfazed as it chipped away to reclaim all but one point and trailed the Trojans, 23-22, when Anae earned a kill and the Trojans went long. Out of system on the next rally, Garrick set Withers for the kill and match point before Dunn and Abercrombie met at the net to turn away the final Utah attack and seal a 25-22 win in the fourth set for the Trojans.
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Up next, the Women of Troy host 25th-ranked Colorado (19-6, 9-5 Pac-12) on Saturday, Nov. 11, for a 1 p.m. PT first serve at Galen Center. The match will be shown live on the Pac-12+ streaming platform.
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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 Trojans were led by sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier who had 17 kills (3e, 46att) and hit .304 in the match to go with nine digs and a block. Senior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie collected 16 kills (6e, 45att) with a .222 hitting percentage and had three digs and three blocks. Senior opposite Niki Withers added 11 kills (4e) on 24 swings for a .292 hitting rate with three blocks.
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Freshman outside hitter Brooke Botkin tallied 10 kills (4e, 27att, .222) and had four digs, three blocks (one solo), and a service ace in the match. Senior middle blocker Jordan Dunn led all players with seven blocks and had two kills.
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The Women of Troy hit .203 as a team and had 56 kills (24e) on 158 attempts. Senior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley dished out 32 assists to go with 12 digs to score her ninth double-double of the season (18th of her career). Sophomore setter Cindy Marina had 15 assists with seven digs and served up three aces. Junior libero Victoria Garrick had 19 digs to lead all players and picked up three assists.
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For the Utes, Adora Anae led the way with 15 kills, but had 11 errors on 44 swings for a .091 hitting rate. Anae led Utah with 18 digs for a double-double. Kenzie Koerber had nine kills (1e, 26att, .308) to go with six blocks (one solo) and Berkeley Oblad scored six kills (5e, 14att, .071) to go with four blocks. Utah hit .154 in the match (44k, 23e, 136att).
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The first set was tied for the 10th time when the Trojans and the Utes traded service errors, but Withers went crosscourt for a kill and then Lanier earned a kill out of the pipe for a 21-19 USC lead. The teams traded points once more before Dunn's overpass kill set the Trojans up at 23-21 before Abercrombie tipped one and went down the line for another to close out a 25-21 USC win. The Trojans hit .238 in the opening frame and got six kills from Abercrombie to secure the win.
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The Trojans never trailed in the second set and were tied just once at nine-all. Marina's service ace put USC on top by three, 14-11, but a 4-0 run with kills by Lanier, Withers, and back-to-back blocks by Dunn pushed USC ahead by six at 18-12. The Utes made a push and trimmed the lead to five once, but Botkin and Lanier racked up consecutive kills for a 22-15 Trojan lead. Lanier earned another kill before a Utah error set the Trojans up with set point at 24-16. The Utes saved one before Lanier crushed another crosscourt shot for the final kill in a 25-17 win. USC hit .297 in the second set to outpace Utah's .062 outing.
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Utah used a 4-0 run to build a five-point lead at 11-6 in the third set and never looked back. The Ute lead ballooned to eight at 15-7, and was eight again at 19-11 on another Anae kill. The Trojans made moves to trim the lead to five on consecutive kills by Abercrombie and Botkin, but Koerber's crosscourt termination ended a 25-18 win for Utah. The Utes scored on four blocks in the third set and held the Women of Troy to a .188 hitting rate while hitting .367 themselves.
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Botkin scored four of her kills in the span of six rallies to help the Trojans break the seventh tie of the fourth set and take a 12-8 lead. USC kept the Utes at bay and extended that lead to six points at 20-14 on a block by Botkin and junior middle blocker Brittany Welsh. Utah was unfazed as it chipped away to reclaim all but one point and trailed the Trojans, 23-22, when Anae earned a kill and the Trojans went long. Out of system on the next rally, Garrick set Withers for the kill and match point before Dunn and Abercrombie met at the net to turn away the final Utah attack and seal a 25-22 win in the fourth set for the Trojans.
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Up next, the Women of Troy host 25th-ranked Colorado (19-6, 9-5 Pac-12) on Saturday, Nov. 11, for a 1 p.m. PT first serve at Galen Center. The match will be shown live on the Pac-12+ streaming platform.
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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 18-3 in all-time meetings with Utah and swept the season series against the Utes.
- The Trojans won their fourth straight match; the second time this season that USC has had a streak of that length.
- The Women of Troy improved to 9-1 at the Galen Center this season (148-31 all-time).
- The victory is the Trojans' sixth over a ranked opponent this season; each time as the lower-ranked team.
- USC's win is the 1,299th career victory for head coach Mick Haley; a total that includes wins at Kellogg Community College with both the men's and women's varsity teams.
- Senior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley had 32 assists and 12 digs to record her ninth double-double of the season and the 18th of her career.
- Sophomore setter Cindy Marina matched her season high with three service aces.
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