No. 12 USC Hosts Beavers and Ducks at Galen Center

LOS ANGELES – The 12th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (11-4, 3-1 Pac-12) returns to Galen Center to play its next four matches at home. Indeed, the Trojans will play six of the next eight on their home court after having to start the season with 11 of 15 matches on the road. USC opens the month of October with Oregon State (10-6, 0-4) on Thursday (Oct. 4) at 7 p.m. PT and then takes on its ninth ranked opponent of the season when No. 20 Oregon (9-5, 2-2) comes to visit on Sunday (Oct. 7) for a 1 p.m. matinee. The Trojans are undefeated at Galen Center this season (4-0) and have nearly an 83-percent winning rate on home floor since 2006 when the building first opened. USC had its season-long five-match winning streak snapped last week, but looks to start another streak when the Beavers and Ducks take the floor. Separately, the Trojans have beaten Oregon State in each of the teams' last five meetings and in nine of the last 10. Against the Ducks, USC is 6-4 in over the last 10.

MATCH #16
No. 12 USC (11-4, 3-1) vs. Oregon State (10-6, 0-4)
Thursday, Oct. 4 • 7 p.m. PT
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 53-9 (.855)
LAST MEETING: W, 3-1 (Sept. 24, 2017 • Galen Center)
CURRENT STREAK: Won 5 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 9-1
STREAM: Pac-12+ USC (Paul Duchesne)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: OSUBeavers.com

MATCH #17
No. 12 USC (11-4, 3-1) vs. No. 20 Oregon (9-5, 2-2)
Sunday, Oct. 7 • 1 p.m. PT
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 53-12 (.815)
LAST MEETING: W, 3-1 (Nov. 22, 2017 • Eugene, Ore.)
CURRENT STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 6-4
STREAM: Pac-12+ USC (Paul Duchesne)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoDucks.com

FIRST SERVE

USC plays only its fifth home match this year when it hosts Oregon State.
The Trojans are 155-32 (.829) all-time at Galen Center; 4-0 this season.
The Women of Troy will play six of their eight October matches at home.
No. 20 Oregon is the ninth ranked opponent the Trojans will face. USC is 5-3 against ranked foes and has faced Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5.
The Trojans are 15-5 in their last 20 combined matches against Oregon and Oregon State. The Ducks own three wins over the Trojans at Galen Center. The Beavers have never won in the building.
USC is led by So. OH Brooke Botkin (4.32 kps) and Jr. All-American OH Khalia Lanier (4.18 kps). Fr. setter Raquel Lázaro (11.16 aps) runs the Trojan offense. Sr. libero Victoria Garrick (4.65 dps) anchors the defense.
First-year USC head coach Brent Crouch holds a PhD from Oregon ('06).

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

USC IN BRIEF: The Trojans have had to play one of the toughest schedules in the nation and emerged with an 11-4 overall record through the front half of the regular-season slate. USC was 8-3 in non-conference matches and earned wins over No. 4 Florida and No. 5 Kentucky. The Trojans fell to No. 3 BYU but also claimed victories over No. 13 Creighton and No. 23 San Diego. Under first-year head coach Brent Crouch, USC boasts a formidable offense with All-American OH Khalia Lanier leading the charge (4.18 kps). She is joined on the pins by sophomore standout Brooke Botkin (4.32 kps) and junior transfer Emily Baptista (2.74 kps). Freshman setter Raquel Lázaro has been named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week three times and is fourth in the league at 11.16 assists per set. On defense, the Women of Troy turn to senior libero Victoria Garrick (4.65 dps); one of just 17 Trojans ever to collect over 1,000 career digs. In the middle, transfer Jasmine Gross leads the Pac-12 with 73 total blocks this season.

LAST TIME OUT: USC had a season-long five-match winning streak snapped in a 3-0 sweep at the hands of No. 2-ranked Stanford on The Farm. Two days later, the Trojans bounced back to claim a four-set win over California in the East Bay. Despite falling, 3-0, to the Cardinal, the Women of Troy made Stanford work for every point in the first two frames. The Trojans dropped their fourth straight set to open up against Cal, but responded to win the next three for a 3-1 win over the Golden Bears. Khalia Lanier, Brooke Botkin, and Emily Baptista each scored nine kills apiece in the effort against Stanford. Lanier and Botkin produced double-doubles in the win over Cal; as did Raquel Lázaro. Against the Bears, libero Victoria Garrick collected enough digs to move into the program's top ten for career digs. She passed two all-time greats in April Ross (2000-03) and Jennifer Kessy (1995-98) to land in the No. 9 spot.

AVCA POLL POSITION: The Trojans opened 2018 ranked No. 10 after finishing the 2017 campaign in the No. 7 spot. Overall, the Trojans have appeared in the poll 503 times and have held a spot among the poll's top 10 teams 316 times, which ranks seventh all-time. The Trojans have also held the No. 1 ranking 47 times previously, which is sixth all-time.

PAC-12 POW(ER)S: USC players have received Pac-12 Player of the Week honors 75 times (third most among league teams). Since 2011, when the Pac-12 began honoring separate offensive and defensive players of the week and named a freshman of the week, Trojans have earned 19 offensive awards, 10 defensive awards, and taken home 17 freshman honors. In the first week of the 2018 season, sophomore OH Brooke Botkin received her first-career league honor as the Offensive Player of the Week and freshman setter Raquel Lázaro was chosen for Freshman of the Week honors. Lázaro repeated as the Freshman of the Week in week two and received her third FOW honor on Sept. 24.

DOUBLE DOWN: Eight Trojans on this year's squad have recorded career double-doubles. Junior OH Khalia Lanier has six this season and leads all players with 31-career double-doubles. Sophomore OH Brooke Botkin has recorded six double-doubles in 2018 and has seven-career double-double matches. Freshman setter Raquel Lázaro logged her first-career double-double with 53 assists and 22 digs against Creighton and has seven-career double-doubles.

CROUCHING TIGER: First-year USC head coach Brent Crouch led the Trojans to a win over No. 5-ranked Kentucky in his first match at the helm (Aug. 24). In his previous position as Portland's head coach, he led the Pilots to their first-ever wins over ranked opponents including the very first ever; a victory against San Diego (Nov. 14, 2015). The following year, Crouch helped led UP to its first-ever upset of a top-10 opponent on a 3-2 victory at San Diego (Nov. 10, 2016).

TERMINAL 3: USC is the only Pac-12 squad with two players in the top 10 for kills. So. OH Brooke Botkin (4.32 kps) and Jr. OH Khalia Lanier (4.18 kps) rank third and fourth respectively. USC is also one of only three teams (Stanford, Oregon) with three players in the top 25. Jr. OPP Emily Baptista (2.74 kps) ranks 25th in the Pac-12. Together, the three Women of Troy account for 11.24 kills per set.

THE OREGON TRAIL: One player on the Trojans' roster hails from the Beaver State. Junior transfer MB Jasmine Gross' hometown is Portland. She is only the second letterwinner ever to call Oregon home. Previously, Anna Maria Lopez (1978-81) who is also from Portland, had played for the Women of Troy. First-year head coach Brent Crouch also has a connection to the state. He earned a doctor of philosophy at the University of Oregon in 2006. While in Eugene, Crouch also taught courses in philosophy and served as the head coach of the Oregon men's club volleyball team.

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Players Mentioned

Emily Baptista

Brooke Botkin

Victoria Garrick

Jasmine Gross

Khalia Lanier