Garrick and Murtagh Tabbed for Pac-12 Academic Honorable Mention

SAN FRANCISCO – USC women's volleyball senior middle blocker Madison Murtagh (San Francisco, Calif./Sacred Heart Preparatory) and senior libero Victoria Garrick (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Preparatory) were each selected for Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention as announced by The Conference on Thursday, Nov. 29.

In order to be eligible for selection to the academic team, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average, and have appeared in at least 50 percent of their team's matches.

Garrick receives her third-career academic honorable mention nod following selections in both her sophomore and junior seasons (2016-17); and Murtagh earns her first honorable mention. Garrick holds the team's highest grade-point average with a 3.49 with a degree objective in journalism. Murtagh is majoring in international relations and has a 3.21 GPA.

Garrick has started all 31 matches at the libero position and has collected 570 digs to rank first in the Pac-12. She ranks third in the Pac-12 for digs per set (4.79 dps) and entered USC's top five for career digs this fall (1,617 total digs). Garrick tallied a career-high 33 digs in USC's five-set win over Arizona (Nov. 16). Murtagh has played at both the middle blocker and opposite position for the Trojans. She set a new career mark with nine blocks against Washington (Oct. 17) and has led the team in blocks in eight matches this fall.

First-year USC head coach Brent Crouch guided the Women of Troy to a 21-10 overall record and a second-place tie in the Pac-12 (13-7). The Trojans played one of the toughest schedules in the nation with 18 AVCA ranked opponents. USC went 11-7 in those matchups and finished the year with 28 of 31 matches against the AVCA's top 100 teams.

The Trojans will open their 36th NCAA tournament run as first- and second-round hosts at Galen Center and will face Southern Conference champion Samford (19-14) at 8 p.m. PT on Friday, Nov. 30. In the other first-round match, Big West champion Cal Poly (25-2) will take on San Diego (16-12) from the West Coast Conference at 6 p.m. Winners of the two first-round matches will meet at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, in the second round for the right to advance to the round of 16.

Since the NCAA expanded to a field of 64 teams in 1998, the Women of Troy have advanced to 12 regional championship matches, seven national semifinals (final four), and two national finals (both victories). Last year, the Women of Troy received the No. 10 seed and advanced to the Gainesville regional final where it fell to site host and eventual national runner-up Florida in five sets.

For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For more information on the NCAA tournament, an interactive bracket, and links to live stats and video, please visit NCAA.com.

Players Mentioned

Victoria Garrick

Madison Murtagh