No. 10 USC Wins Trojan Invitational with 3-2 Victory Over No. 13 Creighton

Saturday, August 25

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:30 PM

USC

3-0

Creighton at USC

1-2

Creighton

USC

Photo by: Jon Kondrath

No. 10 USC Wins Trojan Invitational with 3-2 Victory Over No. 13 Creighton

August 26, 2018 | Women's Volleyball, Features

Box Score Highlights Final Stats Final Stats (PDF)USC Sweeps UNI Tournament Central

Junior outside hitter Khalia Lanier was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player

LOS ANGELES – The No. 10-ranked USC women's volleyball team (3-0) fought out a 3-2 victory (28-26, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 18-16) over No. 13 Creighton (1-2) to claim the 2018 Trojan Invitational title at Galen Center on Saturday, Aug. 25. Junior outside hitter Khalia Lanier was named the tourney's Most Valuable Player and was chosen to the all-tournament team alongside sophomore outside hitter Brooke Botkin and freshman setter Raquel Lázaro.

KEY PLAYERS

So. OH Brooke Botkin set new career highs with 25 kills (8e, .263) and 27.0 points. She also matched career marks with 57 attacks and 12 digs. Botkin posted her third-career double-double and the second in as many nights.
Jr. OH Khalia Lanier scored 20 kills (9e, 64att, .172) and had 14 digs for her second double-double of the season and the 27th of her career. She also served an ace and had a block.
Fr. Setter Raquel Lázaro delivered 53 assists and had 22 digs for her first-career double-double to go with two blocks.
Jr. OH Emily Baptista notched 13 kills (3e, 38att, .263) with a match and career-high six blocks (two solo).
Defensively, Sr. libero Victoria Garrick led the team with 23 digs and senior defender Reni Meyer-Whalley had 10. Garrick also served two of the Trojans' six aces.
For the Bluejays, Taryn Kloth led with 25 kills (8e, 61att, .279) and Jaali Winters had 19 kills (10e, 71att, .127) with 13 digs, five blocks, and two service aces. Brittany Witt led all players with 25 digs while Madelyn Cole had 54 assists and 15 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Three of the five sets played were won by two-point margins. The other two were by three points and four points. The Trojans hit .360 in the final frame (13-4-25) and held the Bluejays to a .179 rate (9-4-28) with three blocks. Lanier scored three kills o'er the final four rallies to sew up the 18-16 win for the Women of Troy.
USC had its chances to go up, 2-0, in the match; with a 20-17 lead late in the second frame. But the Bluejays chipped away and overtook the Trojans at 23-22 as both Kloth and Winters scored six kills apiece. Two Trojan errors did USC in as Creighton claimed a 25-23 win to even the match.
The Trojans maintained steady control of set three to win, 25-22, and Creighton broke away at the end of the fourth to score a 25-21 win and force the fifth set.

UP NEXT

USC hits the road for the first time this season and heads to Gainesville, Fla. For the Bubly Invitational at Exactech Arena hosted by the Florida Gators. The Stephen C. O'Connell Center is the site of the Trojans' final match of 2017 where UF claimed a close five-set win over the Women of Troy to advance to the NCAA national semifinals.

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 6-0 all-time against Creighton.
The Women of Troy opened their season with a 3-0 mark for the sixth time in seven years (2016).
The Trojans' match lasted 3:04 from start to finish, which was two minutes longer than the NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans, which took place across the street at the LA Memorial Coliseum earlier in the day.

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; and purchase season and single-match tickets at USCTrojans.com/tickets.