USC Women’s Volleyball Suffers Sweep at No. 7 Utah

Friday, February 12

Salt Lake City, Utah

2:00 PM

USC

1-4,1-4Pac-12

Utah

7-0,7-0Pac-12

Southern California

Utah

Photo by: John McGillen via USC Athletics

USC Women’s Volleyball Suffers Sweep at No. 7 Utah

February 12, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

Junior outside hitter Brooklyn Schirmer scored a career-high 10 kills in the loss to the Utes

SALT LAKE CITY – The USC women's volleyball team (1-4, 1-4 Pac-12) was defeated, 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-20), by No. 7 Utah (7-0, 7-0 Pac-12) at the Jon M. Huntsman Center on Friday, Feb. 12. The Women of Troy--without eight players due to a combination of team disciplinary measures and injuries--made no substitutions during the match.

KEY PLAYERS

So. OPP Emilia Weske led the Trojans with 11 kills and had one of four USC service aces and a block.
Jr. OH Brooklyn Schirmer posted a new career high with 10 kills and added five digs and a service ace.
Sr. MB Candice Denny had four kills and two digs.
So. L Keila Barra started at outside hitter and finished with one kill and three digs.
Fr. L Sam Hastings also started as an outside hitter and had a team-high eight digs with a service ace and a kill.
Gr. S Sarah Nelson got the start at setter and had 24 assists, three digs, a block, a kill, and a service ace.
Jr. L Kylie Baumert was USC's starting libero and finished the day with three digs.
For Utah, Dani Drews and Kenzie Koerber each tallied 11 kills to lead the way. Saige Ka'aha'aina-Torres put up 32 assists and had three service aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Utah put up a .403 hitting percentage (40k, 9e, 77att) to outpace USC's attack, which finished at .122 (28k, 18e, 82att). The Utes also had more digs (28-25), more blocks (7-1), and more service aces (11-4).
USC never led in the opening set and trailed by three or four points until the Utes pulled way to go on top by eight at 20-12. Drews collected her sixth kill of the opening set to close out a 25-17 win for Utah.
Utah raced out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back in the second frame. The Utes hit .588 (11k, 1e, 17att), served six aces, and had four blocks to lock up a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-11 win in set two.
USC turned the tables early in the third and held a five-point lead at 11-6, but Utah roared back to tie the score at 11-all. The Trojans went ahead once more but Utah used a 3-0 run to claim a 17-14 lead and seized control of momentum. USC managed to stay within three points, but eventually fell by five, 25-20, to complete the Utah sweep.

UP NEXT

USC stays in Salt Lake City for a rematch with the seventh-ranked Utes on Sunday (Feb. 14) at noon MT (11 a.m. PT) at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. The match will be shown live on Pac-12 Network.

MATCH NOTES

USC fell to 18-7 all-time against Utah and to 8-3 against the Utes in Salt Lake City.
Utah extended its series-long winning streak against the Trojans to four straight matches and has now won five of the last seven meetings between the two teams.
The Trojans fell to 29-5 all-time in the state of Utah and to 12-3 all-time in Salt Lake City.
USC's 1-4 start is its worst since 1986 when the Trojans were 2-32 and lost nine straight to open the season.
The Women of Troy lost their third straight match, the longest skid since a four-match streak in 2016 (Nov. 19-Dec. 2).
USC was swept for the first time since Dec. 7, 2019, when it fell to top-ranked Baylor in the 2019 NCAA tournament second round. It was third time Utah claimed a sweep over the Trojans in its seven victories.

This season, the Pac-12 will play a 22-match Conference-only schedule as its 2020 season, which began on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. All volleyball competitions will be conducted in accordance with the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee health and safety recommendations and guidelines available at Pac-12.com/health.

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.