USC Women's Volleyball Takes Down Golden Bears in 3-1 Road Win

Friday, February 19

Berkeley, Calif.

7:00 PM

USC

2-5,2-5Pac-12

California

1-8,1-8Pac-12

Southern California

California

Photo by: Stephen Woo / KLCFotos

USC Women's Volleyball Takes Down Golden Bears in 3-1 Road Win

February 19, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Senior outside hitter Brooke Botkin scored 22 kills and hit .553 in a four-set win against the Golden Bears

BERKELEY, Calif. – The USC women's volleyball team (2-5, 2-5 Pac-12) defeated California (1-8, 1-8) in four sets (25-15, 25-20, 21-25, 25-13) at Haas Pavilion on Friday, Feb. 19, to end a four-match losing streak.

KEY PLAYERS

Sr. OH Brooke Botkin put up a season-high 22 kills (1e, 38att) and reached a new career-high hitting percentage of .553. She logged her sixth double-double of the season (24th of her career) with 11 digs and added three service aces, and one solo block for a season-high 26 points.
So. OPP Emilia Weske scored 10 kills (4e, 29att, .207) and had two blocks and a service ace.
So. MB Aleksandra Gryka put up nine kills (1e, 16att) and hit a season-high .500 to go with two blocks, two assists, and had the match-clinching service ace.
Jr. setter Raquel Lázaro dished out 39 assists and had a season-best 17 digs to record her fourth double-double this season (36th of her career) to go with five blocks (two solo), two kills, and two service aces.
For Cal, Lydia Grote led the way with 14 kills (1e, 31att, .419) and six blocks. Isabel Potter put up 34 assists and was one dig shy of a double-double with nine. Jessica Houghton led the Bears with 12 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Trojans out-hit the Bears, .333 to .176, and out-did Cal in kills (55-44), service aces (11-7), digs (50-47), and blocks (7-6).
USC recorded 14 kills, four aces, and two blocks in the first set; and really pulled away from the Bears to end the frame with a 10-3 run for the 25-15 win. Botkin collected five kills in the first set and had her only error of the match.
The Women of Troy led the entire second set but had to fight off a Cal comeback when the Bears closed within four after trailing by as many as nine. Botkin's sixth kill of the set closed the books on a 25-20 win for a 2-0 USC lead.
Cal came out firing in the third and rolled to an eight-point lead at 13-5, but the Trojans stayed patient and turned another 10-3 run into a 19-17 lead. That wouldn't be enough however as the Bears pressed forward to take a 25-21 win despite eight more kills from Botkin. Cal hit .273 in the third and got six kills from Grote with three service aces.
USC returned to an aggressive service game in the fourth set and finished with a .433 hitting rate (14k, 1e, 30att). A 4-0 run that included two service aces from Botkin gave USC an 8-4 lead, and the Trojans began to click. Cal's offense stalled as USC claimed a 25-13 win in the fourth to close the match.

UP NEXT

USC remains in the East Bay to take on California for a second match at Haas Pavilion on Saturday (Feb. 20) at 3 p.m. PT.

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 63-12 all-time against California and won its 10th straight match against the Golden Bears. The Trojans also went to 27-7 all-time against the Bears in Berkeley and have now won 10 straight at Haas Pavilion since 2010.
The Trojans picked up another win in the Bay Area to improve to 62-60 all-time in Northern California.

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.