No. 20 Trojans Close Non-Con at USD Invitational #2

LOS ANGELES – No. 20 USC (5-3) concludes non-conference with two matches at the USD Invitational #2 this weekend. The Trojans face host San Diego (4-4) on Thursday and Long Beach State (3-6) on Friday. The Trojans have won three straight including 3-0 sweeps in their last two and can build momentum to carry into conference play. USC has had interesting histories against both of its opponents this week. The Trojans were 9-0 against USD until the Toreros knocked off a No. 1-ranked USC at Jenny Craig Pavilion in 2013. Of the Trojans' 12 victories over the Toreros, seven times, they've knocked USD out of the NCAA tournament. Last year, USD turned the tables and took down USC at Galen Center to end the Trojans' season. USC is 28-10 against LBSU but hasn't met the 49ers since 2007. The previous 37 matches were played prior to 2000 and Long Beach State is 6-4 over the Trojans in the teams' last 10 meetings.

USD INVITATIONAL #2
Jenny Craig Pavilion • San Diego, Calif.

MATCH #9
No. 20 USC (5-3) at San Diego (4-4)
Thursday, Sept. 19 • 7 p.m. PT
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 12-2 (.857) • LAST 10: 8-2
LAST MEETING: L, 3-0 (Dec. 1, 2018 • Galen Center)
WATCH: WCC Network
OPPONENT WEBSITE: USDToreros.com

MATCH #10
No. 20 USC (5-3) vs. Long Beach State (3-6)
Friday, Sept. 20 • 4 p.m. PT
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 28-10 (.737) • LAST 10: 4-6
LAST MEETING: W, 3-2 (Dec. 1, 2007 • Galen Center)
WATCH: FloVolleyball.com
OPPONENT WEBSITE: LongBeachState.com

FIRST SERVE

Second-year USC head coach Brent Crouch is 27-14 at Troy (82-80 career).
The Women of Troy are 46-12-1 all-time in matches played in the city of San Diego and are 7-3 in their last 10 contests (since 1989).
USC and San Diego will meet in a rematch of last year's NCAA second-round matchup at Galen Center where the Toreros defeated USC, 3-0.
The last time USC met either San Diego or Long Beach State were both occurances on Dec. 1, 11 years apart. The Trojans played the Toreros on Dec. 1, 2018, and last faced the 49ers on Dec. 1, 2007; both at Galen Center.
Sr. MB Jasmine Gross was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week this week and OH Kalen Owes was chosen as Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.
The Trojans return two AVCA All-America outside hitters: Sr. Khalia Lanier was a first-team choice in 2017 and Jr. Brooke Botkin was second team in 2018.
USC's sophomore setter Raquel Lázaro was the 2018 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and earned AVCA All-America honorable mention.

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.

TROJAN BRIEF CASE: USC is loaded at the pins and returns a pair of All-American outside hitters in Khalia Lanier (4.07 kps) and Brooke Botkin (2.73 kps). They receive sets from the 2018 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Raquel Lázaro (10.55 aps). All four of USC's top attackers return from last season. On the right side, senior Emily Baptista (2.95 kps in 2018) is back and in the middle, senior Jasmine Gross (2.12 kps) returns. Among newcomers, USC welcomes MB Madison Horin (1.00 bps), OH Kalen Owes (3.23 kps), and OPP Emilia Weske (2.28 kps) as part of a heralded freshman class. Defensively, the Trojans will add the services of two-time beach volleyball All-American Abril Bustamante and see the return of senior libero Jenna Adams (3.13 dps) from injury.

LAST TIME OUT: The Women of Troy claimed the Trojan Invitational title on the strength of three victories on their home floor. The Trojans went the distance to beat Yale, 3-2, and then earned 3-0 sweeps over Howard and Villanova. Sr. MB Jasmine Gross was named the tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by freshmen pin-hitters Kalen Owes and Emilia Weske. So. setter Raquel Lázaro led the Trojan offense and produced three double-doubles in the process. Gross and Owes were later honored as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week respectively.

TOUGH SLEDDING: The Trojans play one of the toughest early-season non-conference slates in the country. USC is one of 10 teams that began the season with back-to-back contests against teams that finished in the top 25 of the NCAA's final 2018 ratings percentage index (RPI). The Trojans are one of only three programs that tackled five straight teams that finished 2018 in the top 25. The other two programs were Texas and Creighton. Among the ranked opponents, USC met No. 3 Texas and No. 22 Texas State on opening weekend and then have No. 8 Kentucky, No. 13 Creighton, No. 16 Northern Iowa this week. USC itself was No. 9 in the final published RPI.

AVCA POLL POSITION: The Trojans opened 2019 ranked No. 14 after finishing the 2018 campaign in the No. 21 spot. Overall, the Trojans have appeared in the poll 516 times, which ranks third all-time. USC has held a spot among the poll's top 10 teams 316 times, which ranks eighth 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 76 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, 11 defensive awards, and taken home 19 freshman honors. On Sept. 16, Sr. MB Jasmine Gross was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career and OH Kalen Owes was chosen for Freshman of the Week honors.

DOUBLE DOWN: Six Women of Troy on this year's squad have recorded career double-doubles. Senior OH Khalia Lanier leads all players with 34-career double-doubles. Junior OH Brooke Botkin has 16-career double-double matches. Sophomore setter Raquel Lázaro has logged 17 double-doubles and is the owner of the first and only USC triple-double in the rally scoring era (36 assists, 16 digs, 11 blocks at Northern Iowa). Senior OPP Emily Baptista has three as a Trojan and 11-career double-doubles. Senior setter Cindy Marina owns 20-career double-doubles and senior MB Jasmine Gross has had four. Freshman OH Kalen Owes posted her first-career double-double (18 kills, 15 digs) against Creighton on Sept. 7, and is already up to three-career double-doubles.

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Adams

Emily Baptista

Brooke Botkin

Jasmine Gross

Madison Horin

Khalia Lanier

Kalen Owes

Emilia Weske