No. 18 USC Set For Cross-Country Clashes in Maryland

LOS ANGELES – The No. 18-ranked USC women's volleyball team (7-2) heads to the Old Line State for its final two non-conference tests and will take on Oklahoma (3-6) and host Maryland (9-0) in the Maryland Challenge at Xfinity Pavilion in College Park, Md., this weekend. The Trojans and the Terrapins meet on Thursday (Sept. 14) at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT). The Women of Troy and the Sooners then tangle up on Friday (Sept. 15) at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT). Both matches will be broadcast via live stream on the Big Ten Plus platform (applicable fees).

The Trojans are on a second three-match winning streak following wins at the UCSB Thunderdome Classic. USC will play its seventh and eighth matches in a row away from home when it takes the court in Maryland. It is the longest stretch of road and neutral matches for the Women of Troy since they opened 2013 with nine straight matches away from home. The Trojans are stacked at the pins and rely heavily on OHs Khalia Lanier (4.21 kps) and Alyse Ford (2.66 kps) and OPPs Brittany Abercrombie (2.56 kps) and Niki Withers (2.50 kps) to drive the attack. Setters Reni Meyer-Whalley (6.12 aps) and Cindy Marina (5.47 aps) run USC's 6-2 system in which libero Victoria Garrick puts up 4.00 digs per set.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trojans claimed the UCSB Thunderdome Classic title with a five-set win over Arkansas and a pair of 3-0 sweeps against UC Santa Barbara and Yale. The five-set match against the Razorbacks was the first of the season for the Women of Troy. USC played seven five-set matches in 2016. The back-to-back clean sweeps were the first for the Trojans since a pair straight-set wins over Oregon State (Oct. 16) and California (Oct. 21) in 2016. Sophomore OH Khalia Lanier, senior MB Jordan Dunn, and junior libero Victoria Garrick were each named to the Thunderdome Classic all-tournament team. It was Lanier's third pre-conference all-tournament team selection this fall.

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 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.

900 CLUB: USC head coach Mick Haley ranks third in career NCAA Division I victories (939) 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 1,287-330-1 (.795) in all matches including men's and women's at Kellogg Community College.

FIRST SERVE

USC is a combined 9-0 in all-time matches against Maryland (4-0) and Oklahoma (4-0) and claimed two 3-0 wins against both in 2016 (Galen Center).
The Trojans' current three-match winning streak matches the team's longest of the season (Aug. 25-26).
OH Khalia Lanier has been named to the all-tournament team for each of USC's three pre-conference tournaments.
USC's roster features eight newcomers, including four transfers. In total, the Trojan roster has eight players who have played at other colleges.

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Players Mentioned

Brittany Abercrombie

Jordan Dunn

Alyse Ford

Victoria Garrick

Khalia Lanier

Cindy Marina

Reni Meyer-Whalley

Niki Withers