Friday, November 30
Los Angeles, Calif.
8:00 PM
USC
22-10
3
vs
0
Samford at USC
19-15
1
2
3
F
Samford
18
19
14
0
USC
25
25
25
3
Team Stats
SAM
USC
Kills
39
46
Errors
18
5
Attempts
105
96
Hitting %
.200
.427
Points
44.0
56.0
Assists
38
44
Aces
2
3
Blocks
3.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's VolleyballPhoto by: Katie Chin
USC Sweeps Samford to Advance to NCAA Second Round
November 30, 2018 | Women's Volleyball, Features
Junior opposite hitter Emily Baptista tallied 12 kills and hit .476 to power the Trojans to a win over the Bulldogs
LOS ANGELES – The 11th-seeded USC women's volleyball team (22-10) overpowered Southern Conference champion Samford (19-15) to take a three-set sweep (25-18, 25-19, 25-14) in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament at Galen Center on Friday, Nov. 30.
The Women of Troy earned their ninth straight-set win of the season to advance into a second-round meeting with San Diego (17-12) set for 7 p.m. PT on Saturday, Dec. 1. The contest is a rematch of last year's second-round bout between the Trojans and the Toreros. In that one, USC needed five sets to dispatch of USD. Earlier this season, the Trojans swept the Toreros on the road (Sept. 14) to improve to 12-1 all-time against USD.
KEY PLAYERS
The Women of Troy earned their ninth straight-set win of the season to advance into a second-round meeting with San Diego (17-12) set for 7 p.m. PT on Saturday, Dec. 1. The contest is a rematch of last year's second-round bout between the Trojans and the Toreros. In that one, USC needed five sets to dispatch of USD. Earlier this season, the Trojans swept the Toreros on the road (Sept. 14) to improve to 12-1 all-time against USD.
KEY PLAYERS
- Jr. OPP Emily Baptista was one of three USC players in double digits and led the Trojans with 12 kills on .476 hitting (2e, 21att).
- So. OH Brooke Botkin tallied 11 kills (1e, 28att, .357) and Jr. OH Khalia Lanier poured in 11 kills (2e, 24att) and hit .375.
- Fr. setter Raquel Lázaro dished out 39 assists and had nine digs to go with a block and a kill.
- Jr. MB Jasmine Gross was error-free and scored nine kills to hit .600 (0e, 15att).
- Sr. libero Victoria Garrick led all players with 15 digs in the match.
- For the Bulldogs, Kelsi Hobbs led with 12 kills (5e, 32att, .219). Krista Boesing put up 10 kills and Shayla Phillip had nine.
- The Trojans led the entire way and broke open several six-point leads before Gross' fourth kill of the frame sealed a 25-18 win in the first set. USC hit .414 (14k, 2e, 29att) in the set and got six kills from Botkin.
- The second set went back and forth for nine ties, but the last one came at 11-all before an ace by senior Reni Meyer-Whalley spurred the Women of Troy to a 25-19 win. The Trojans hit .333 (14k, 1e, 39att) in the second and finished with a 5-1 run.
- USC wasn't challenged in the third en route to a 25-14 win and the three-set sweep. The Trojans poured in 18 kills (2e, 28att) and hit .571 to close out the Bulldogs. Baptista and Lanier each had six kills apiece and Gross added four. Botkin chimed in with a kill, an ace, and a block.
- The Trojans advance to the second round to face San Diego in a 7 p.m. PT match at Galen Center on Saturday, Dec. 1. The winner will advance into the round of 16 (location to be determined).
- USC and Samford met for the first time.
- The Trojans improved to 31-5 all-time in NCAA first-round matches. USC moves to 80-32 all-time in the NCAA tournament and to 126-39 in all postseason matches.
- USC improved to 161-36 all-time at Galen Center and to 20-3 in NCAA tournament matches played in the arena (since 2006).
- The Women of Troy will face San Diego in the second round of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season and for the fourth time since 2010 (2010, '15, '17, '18). USC is 7-0 against the Toreros in NCAA matches.
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Women's Volleyball - USC 3, Creighton 0: Highlights (9/9/25)
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