No. 22 USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 19 Houston in Season Opener

Friday, August 25

Houston, Texas

6:00 PM

USC

0-1,0-0Pac-12

Houston

1-0,0-0Big 12

Southern California

Houston

No. 22 USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 19 Houston in Season Opener

August 25, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

The Women of Troy got a career-high 13 kills from senior MB Lindsey Miller in a loss to the Cougars

HOUSTON – The No. 22-ranked USC women's volleyball team (0-1) fell to 19th-ranked Houston (1-0) in four sets (25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20) at Fertitta Center on Friday, Aug. 25. The Women of Troy fell to 38-10 all-time in season openers and to 13-5 in openers played on the road.

KEY PLAYERS

Sr. MB Lindsey Miller posted a career-high 13 kills (1e, 21att) on .571 hitting and added four blocks (one solo).
Sr. OH Skylar Fields had a team-high 14 kills to go with seven digs, three blocks, and two assists.
Jr. setter Mia Tuaniga put up 37 assists and had eight digs, two service aces, two kills, and a solo block.
Gr. LIB Ellie Snook got the start and finished with 14 digs and three assists.
So. DS Gala Trubint posted 11 digs and had one service ace.
For Houston, Kenna Sauer debuted for the Cougars with a match-high 18 kills (4e, 45att) while hitting .311 and logged a double-double with 14 digs and three blocks. Nena Mbonu had nine kills and Abbie Jackson added eight with 12 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Cougars led the entire first set and hit .500 (13k, 1e, 24att) to get a 25-16 win. The Trojans were within a point at 12-13, but a 12-4 burst by UH closed the books on the opening frame. Fields posted five of her kills in the first set, but the Trojans hit just .212 (12k, 5e, 33att) and committed four more errors from behind the service line.
After 17 ties, the third of three lead changes went the Trojans' way as they held on for a 25-23 win in the second set. Houston held a .182 to .175 edge in hitting but USC staved off the Cougars to even the match at one set apiece.
The third set had 13 ties and seven lead changes, but the Trojans led by three at 19-16, 20-17, and 21-18, before the Cougars charged back and scored a 5-0 run to close out a 25-22 win in the third behind five kills from Sauer and four blocks as a team. USC had seven hitting errors and six service errors in a set it was poised to win.
Houston racked up an early 4-0 lead and never trailed in the fourth. The Cougars led by as many as eight points at 12-4 and 13-5. USC never gave up the fight and closed the gap to two points at 20-18, but UH had too much down the stretch as Sauer put up seven more kills to sew up the four-set win, 25-20.

UP NEXT

The Trojans remain in Houston to take on No. 23-ranked Rice (1-0) at the Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday, Aug. 26, at 6 p.m. CT (4 p.m. PT). The match will be shown live on ESPN+. Rice defeated Southern Mississippi (0-1) in its season opener led by a double-double from former Trojan Emilia Weske. She finished with 17 kills (4e, 38att, .342) and 12 digs.

MATCH NOTES

USC fell to 7-1 all-time in meetings with Houston but was facing the Cougars for the first time since 2003.
The Trojans go to 38-10 in all-time season openers and to 13-5 when the opener is played on the road.
The Women of Troy fell to 31-7 all-time in the state of Texas and went to 3-1 in the city of Houston.

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.