USC Women's Volleyball's Offense Ignites for Five-Set Win Over Illinois

Thursday, September 14

West Lafayette, Ind.

2:30 PM

USC

5-4,0-0Pac-12

Illinois

5-4,0-0Big Ten

Southern California

Illinois

Photo by: Drake Lee

USC Women's Volleyball's Offense Ignites for Five-Set Win Over Illinois

September 14, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

Senior OH Skylar Fields posted a career-high 30.5 points in a win over the Illini in the Boilermaker Challenge

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The USC women's volleyball team (5-4) took down Illinois (5-4) in five sets (25-16, 17-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13) in the Boilermaker Challenge at Holloway Gymnasium on Thursday, Sept. 14.

KEY PLAYERS

Sr. OH Skylar Fields set a new career high with 30.5 points and led all players with 25 kills (5e, 60att) on .333 hitting and added nine digs, five blocks, and a career-best three service aces.
Jr. setter Mia Tuaniga put up 45 assists with 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season (19th career). She also had a career-high six kills (8att, .750), and three blocks.
So. LIB Gala Trubint racked up 21 digs to lead all players and had four assists and a service ace. It marked her 32nd-career match in double-digit digs and was her 10th time with 20 digs or more in a match.
Sr. MB Lindsey Miller had seven kills (3e, 19att, .211) and added five blocks and two service aces.
So. MB Tyrah Ariail put up a season-high nine kills (1e, 20att) to hit .400 and led the Trojans with six blocks.
For Illinois, Kayla Burbage and Raina Terry each led the way with 18 kills apiece. Four players had double-digit digs led by 13 each from Lily Barry and Brooke Mosher.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Trojans racked up a 25-16 win in the opening frame behind five kills from Fields and three from Ariail and a .478 hitting percentage. Trubint had five of USC's 10 digs and Miller added a pair of service aces in the first.
The Illini turned it on in the second set and hit .452 netting 17 kills (3e) on 31 swings and tied the match with a 25-17 win. USC had 10 kills on .250 hitting but couldn't stop Terry and Burbage in the second frame.
Illinois opened set three with an early 6-2 lead, but the Trojans equalized at 10-all and went back and forth with the Illini until Illinois pulled away to get a 25-21 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Both teams had three blocks in the third, but USC hit .160 with 14 kills on 50 swings to Illinois' 13 kills on 45 swings.
The score was tied 10 times in the fourth and the lead changed hands four times, the biggest of which came on a 7-0 run by the Trojans to flip the scoreboard in their favor. Fields had seven more kills in the fourth and USC posted four blocks to hold Illinois to a .026 hitting percentage.
The teams went back and forth in the fifth, but USC tightened the screws and went in front by three at 12-9. The Illini fought back but Fields got six of her kills in the final frame before she and Ariail teamed up to block Terry on match point. The Trojans won, 15-13, but both teams hit .200 in the fifth.

UP NEXT

The Women of Troy conclude their non-conference schedule with a match-up against No. 17 Purdue (5-2) on Friday, Sept. 15, at Holloway Gymnasium. The Trojans and the hosts of the Boilermaker Challenge meet at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) and will be shown live on Big Ten Network.

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 3-3 all-time against Illinois and had previously lost the last two meetings.
Each of the last three USC-Illinois matches have gone to five sets. Illinois now leads, 2-1, after today's loss.
USC played its second five-set match of the season and goes to 147-104 in 251 all-time five-set matches. The Trojans are now 24-14 when they play five-set matches in neutral meetings.
The Trojans improved to 10-1 all-time in the state of Indiana and is 1-0 in five-set matches played in the state.

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, X, and Instagram.