No. 25 USC Opens Pac-12 Play at Crosstown Rival UCLA

LOS ANGELES – No. 25 USC (6-4) opens Pac-12 play at crosstown rival UCLA (5-4) on Wednesday (Sept. 25) and then hosts Arizona (10-2) at Galen Center on Saturday (Sept. 28) to get the conference season started. The Women of Troy are 33-10 in all-time league openers and have their sights set on a strong start. USC tied for second place in the final 2018 conference standings and were picked to finish second in this year's preseason conference poll. Only the defending league and national champion Stanford was selected to finish higher. USC's league-opener mark includes a 3-0 record when the Trojans open conference play at UCLA (2003, '15, '17).

The Women of Troy have fielded several different lineups and rotations due to injuries and player availability but look to settle in and push for the program's ninth conference title in 2019. USC holds a .684 all-time winning percentage against Pac-12 schools (515-236-2) and last won a share of the league championship in 2015. The Trojans are led by a pair of All-American outside hitters in Khalia Lanier and Brooke Botkin. The USC offense is run by the 2018 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year setter Raquel Lázaro. Second-year head coach Brent Crouch led the Women of Troy to their 28th straight NCAA appearance last season.

MATCH #11 • Wednesday, Sept. 25 • 7:30 p.m. PT
No. 25 USC (6-4, 0-0) at UCLA (5-4, 0-0)
Pauley Pavilion • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 59-53 (.527) • LAST 10: 4-6
LAST MEETING: W, 3-2 (Nov. 23, 2018 • Pauley Pavilion)
WATCH: P12 N/LA (Anne Marie Anderson & Tammy Blackburn)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCLABruins.com

MATCH #12 • Saturday, Sept. 28 • 7 p.m. PT
No. 25 USC (6-4, 0-0) vs. Arizona (10-2, 0-0)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 65-22 (.747) • LAST 10: 7-3
LAST MEETING: W, 3-2 (Nov. 16, 2018 • Tucson, Ariz.)
WATCH: Pac-12+ (Carlo Jimenez & Hunter Patterson)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: ArizonaWildcats.com

FIRST SERVE

Second-year USC head coach Brent Crouch is 28-15 at Troy (83-81 career).
The Trojans are 33-10 all-time in conference openers, with a 13-5 mark when they open league play on the road. USC is 6-4 in its last 10 conference openers and is 3-0 when it opens league matches at UCLA (2003, '15, '17).
USC begins conference play against UCLA for the 13th time (10th straight) and holds a 9-3 mark against the Bruins in 12 previous meetings.
The Trojans are 164-37 all-time at Galen Center; 3-0 at home this season.
USC returns 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 (4.18 kps) and Brooke Botkin (2.74 kps). They receive sets from the 2018 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Raquel Lázaro (10.77 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 (1.97 kps, .407) returns. Among newcomers, USC welcomes MB Madison Horin (0.94 kps, 0.81 bps), OH Kalen Owes (3.00 kps), and OPP Emilia Weske (2.32 kps) as part of a heralded freshman class. Defensively, the Trojans lean on senior libero Jenna Adams (3.00 dps) who returns this season after sitting out 2018 due to injury.

LAST TIME OUT: The Women of Troy earned a split at the USD Invitational #2 to close the non-conference schedule. USC was stunned in a five-set loss to San Diego, which was also the team that eliminated the Trojans from the 2018 NCAA tournament. Despite a tough 15-13 loss in set five, the Women of Troy bounced back to get a 3-0 sweep of Long Beach State to complete non-conference play with a 6-4 record.

AGREE TO DISAGREE: The Women of Troy lead the all-time series with rival UCLA by a 59-53 margin. Ask someone in blue and gold and they'll tell you otherwise. The Bruins claim to lead the series with a record of 64-58. UCLA's program, which started in 1972, is several years the senior to the one at USC (1976) and earned a handful of victories over the Trojans before the Women of Troy officially started a varsity program. In those four seasons, the Bruins racked up 11 wins against USC's club team, which are included in UCLA's all-time record.

TOUGH SLEDDING: The Trojans played one of the toughest non-conference slates in the country. USC was 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 were 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 517 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.

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Adams

Emily Baptista

Brooke Botkin

Jasmine Gross

Madison Horin

Khalia Lanier

Kalen Owes

Emilia Weske