No. 15 USC Hosts No. 2 Cardinal, Golden Bears

LOS ANGELES – No. 15 USC (15-6, 7-3 Pac-12) begins the second round of its league schedule as host to No. 2 Stanford (18-1, 10-0) and California (11-10, 3-7) at Galen Center this weekend. The Women of Troy are alone in second place in the Pac-12 standings and can build momentum heading into November with two wins over the Bay Area teams to close the month of October.

USC split matches against the Cardinal and the Golden Bears in an early-season trip to the Bay Area. The Trojans stayed close in their first set against Stanford, but were eventually swept by the Cardinal; now on a 16-match winning streak. USC took down Cal in four sets in Berkeley and is 13-1 over the Bears in the teams' last 14 meetings. Cal's lone win was a five-set victory at Galen Center in 2014. The Bears pushed the Trojans to five sets at Galen in 2012 and 2013 as well.

MATCH #22
No. 15 USC (15-6, 7-3) vs. No. 2 Stanford (18-1, 10-0)
Friday, Oct. 26 • 7 p.m. PT
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC trails, 26-64-1 (.286)
LAST MEETING: L, 3-0 (Sept. 28, 2018 • Stanford, Calif.)
CURRENT STREAK: Lost 5 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 3-7
TV: P12N/LA/BA (Anne Marie Anderson & Holly McPeak)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoStanford.com

MATCH #23
No. 15 USC (15-6, 7-3) vs. California (11-10, 3-7)
Sunday, Oct. 28 • 1 p.m. PT
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 59-12 (.831)
LAST MEETING: W, 3-1 (Sept. 30, 2018 • Berkeley, Calif.)
CURRENT STREAK: Won 6 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 9-1
STREAM: Pac-12+ USC Stream
OPPONENT WEBSITE: CalBears.com

FIRST SERVE

USC is ranked 15th in the latest AVCA Coaches Top 25 poll. The Trojans face their 14th ranked opponent this season (Stanford), the sixth in a row.
The Women of Troy are No. 6 in the NCAA's ratings percentage index (RPI).
The Trojans are 8-5 in 13 matches with ranked opponents in 2018.
USC is currently in second place in the Pac-12 standings (7-3).
The Trojans are 7-1 at Galen Center this season and hold a 158-33 (.827) all-time record on their home floor.
Only five teams have ever defeated USC more than once at Galen Center. Stanford leads all of those teams with seven wins.
Cal's last win over USC was a 3-2 victory at Galen Center in 2014.
USC is led by So. OH Brooke Botkin (4.36 kps) and Jr. All-American OH Khalia Lanier (4.35 kps). Fr. setter Raquel Lázaro (11.30 aps) runs the Trojan offense. Sr. libero Victoria Garrick (4.83 dps) anchors the defense.

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 are currently in second place in the Pac-12 standings behind only undefeated Stanford (10-0). USC sits ahead of three 6-4 squads (Washington State, Oregon, UCLA). Despite having six losses on its record, USC holds the nation's No. 6 RPI ranking thanks to having endured an incredibly difficult non-conference schedule. The Trojans were 8-3 in those 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 (4.35 kps). She is joined on the pins by sophomore standout Brooke Botkin (4.36 kps) and junior transfer Emily Baptista (2.62 kps). Freshman setter Raquel Lázaro has been named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week four times and is third in the league at 11.30 assists per set. On defense, the Women of Troy turn to senior libero Victoria Garrick (4.83 dps). In the middle, transfer Jasmine Gross leads the Pac-12 with 99 total blocks this season.

LAST TIME OUT: USC split matches in the Pacific Northwest with a 3-1 win over No. 19 Washington and a 3-2 loss at No. 23 Washington State. The Trojans were playing their third and fourth consecutive matches with ranked opponents over the course of seven days. USC dropped the first set in both contests, but responded with three straight wins over the Huskies. The teams traded sets in Pullman but USC needed to fight back to claim a 25-23 win in the fourth. The Trojans carried that momentum into several four-point leads in the fifth set, but the Cougars mounted a late run and closed out with three straight points for an 18-16 victory to snap the Trojans' three-match winning streak. Khalia Lanier and Brooke Botkin each produced double-doubles in both matches. The Women of Troy tallied season-high marks with 16 blocks against both the Huskies and Cougars. Victoria Garrick broke the 20-dig mark in both matches and Raquel Lázaro posted her team-leading 10th double-double in the match with WSU.

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 506 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 18 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; fourth on Oct. 15.

DOUBLE DOWN: Eight Trojans on this year's squad have recorded career double-doubles. Junior OH Khalia Lanier has eight this season and leads all players with 33-career double-doubles. Sophomore OH Brooke Botkin has recorded nine double-doubles in 2018 and has 10-career double-double matches. Freshman setter Raquel Lázaro logged her first-career double-double with 53 assists and 22 digs against Creighton and has 10 double-doubles to lead the team this year.

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 (4.36 kps) and Jr. OH Khalia Lanier (4.35 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 (2.62 kps) ranks 25th in the Pac-12. Together, the three Women of Troy account for 11.33 kills per set.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emily Baptista

Brooke Botkin

Victoria Garrick

Jasmine Gross

Khalia Lanier