No. 16 USC Women's Volleyball Hosts Spartans and No. 3 Nittany Lions at Galen Center

LOS ANGELES – The 16th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (14-4, 6-2 Big Ten) closes out October home matches with visits from Michigan State (7-12, 0-8) and third-ranked Penn State (18-1, 8-0) at Galen Center this week. The Women of Troy look to extend a nine-match home win streak when they tangle with the Spartans on Thursday night (Oct. 24). USC then takes on the Nittany Lions on Saturday night (Oct. 26). Both matches are scheduled for 8 p.m. PT starts and will each be carried live on Big Ten Network.

THIS WEEK • OKTOBERFEST
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.

MATCH #19 • Thursday, Oct. 24 • 8 p.m. PT
No. 16 USC (14-4, 6-2) vs. Michigan State (7-12, 0-8)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 7-1 (.875)
LAST MEETING: W 3-0 (Sept. 4, 2010 • Honolulu, Hawai'i)
STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 7-1
TV: Big Ten Network (Elise Woodward & Nicole Branagh)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: MSUSpartans.com

MATCH #20 • Saturday, Oct. 26 • 8 p.m. PT
No. 16 USC (14-4, 6-2) vs. No. 3 Penn State (18-1, 8-0)
SERIES RECORD: Tied, 2-2 (.500)
LAST MEETING: L 3-2 (Aug. 27, 2011 • University Park, Pa.)
STREAK: Lost 2 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 2-2
TV: Big Ten Network (AJ Kanell & Nicole Branagh)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoPSUSports.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

USC is led by fifth-year head coach Brad Keller who has the unique experience of having coached both men's and women's programs at both USC and UCLA. Overall, Keller is 77-51 (.602) as the Trojans' head coach.
The Trojans have won 11 of their last 13 matches.
USC is 213-57 all-time at Galen Center (.789) and has won nine straight home matches since sweeping Utah State on Sept. 12.
Sr. S Mia Tuaniga has started as the Trojans' setter for each of the last three seasons and has 3,989 career assists to rank fourth in school history.
Jr. LIB Gala Trubint has had 60 matches in double-digit digs (15 with 20-plus digs). She is the 20th USC player to reach 1,000 career digs.
Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst ranks eighth in the Big Ten for kills (3.70 kps) and is eighth in the league for points (4.44 pps).
Sr. MB Tyrah Ariail is 10th in the Big Ten in blocks (1.22 bps). USC leads the conference (5th in the NCAA) for blocks at 2.96 bps.
USC technical coordinator Virginia Pham previously served as the director of operations, tech and video coordinator for Penn State (2018-19).

LAST TIME OUT: USC took and returned from its longest road trip of the season with a pair of 3-0 wins over East Coast foes Maryland and Rutgers. The Trojans improved to 21-7 all-time in matches played in Atlantic Coast states and played for the first time in the state of New Jersey. The Trojans got 14 kills and .423 hitting from Jadyn Livings in their win over the Terrapins and then were led by nine kills apiece from Adonia Faumuina and Ally Batenhorst in a sweep of the Scarlet Knights. USC's 11.0 blocks against Rutgers marked the 11th time this season the team has reached double-digit blocks. In the win over the Knights, Mia Tuaniga dialed up three aces for her 18th-career match with three or more. She also moved within 11 assists from delivering her 4,000th-career assist and would become only the fourth Trojan ever to reach that career milestone.

AVCA POLL POSITION: The Trojans opened the 2024 season ranked No. 21 in the AVCA coaches' poll. Overall, USC has appeared in the coaches' poll 535 times, which ranks sixth all-time. The Women of Troy have held a spot among the poll's top 10 teams 317 times, which ranks eighth all-time, and the Trojans have held the No. 1 ranking 47 times for seventh all-time. Since 1982—the year of the poll's inception—USC has appeared in the final poll 34 of 41 times with 18 finishes in the top 10; 12 in the top five, and twice as the No. 1-ranked team (2002, '03).

HOME, SWEET HOME: USC is 213-57 (.789) all-time at Galen Center. The Trojans were 11-2 at home a year ago. USC went 12-1 in home matches in 2011 and completed the 2012 home schedule with a 17-1 mark. In 2007, USC was 19-0 at home on the way to an appearance in the NCAA national semifinal match. The Trojans are 20-4 all-time at Galen Center in NCAA tournament matches. The four losses were to Hawai'i (2008 and 2009) and San Diego (2018) each time in the second round; and to Washington in the 2013 NCAA Regional Final.

LONG DISTANCE: USC is 156-108 all-time in five-set matches: 66-40 at home; 66-54 on the road; 24-14 in neutral matches. The Trojans were 6-5 in 11 five-set matches in 2023, which tied a school record previously set in 2019. Against Big Ten opponents, USC is 46-39 all-time in five-set contests.

RANK AND FILE: Each of the Trojans' four losses this season have come against ranked opponents. Those include No. 1 Pittsburgh at home (Sept. 11), No. 2 Nebraska on the road (Sept. 29), No. 11 Creighton in Omaha, Neb. (Sept. 5), and No. 11 Oregon on the road (Oct. 9). The Bluejays later moved up as high as No. 6 in the weekly rankings. USC is otherwise 13-0 against unranked opponents this season and picked up its first victory over a ranked opponent in a four-set win against No. 12 Minnesota (Oct. 5).

ONCE AROUND THE BLOCK: The Trojans' 2.96 blocks per set lead the Big Ten and rank fifth nationally. In 18 matches, USC has reached double-digit blocks 11 times including season-highs of 19.5 blocks twice; vs. Kansas State (Sept. 6), vs. Loyola Marymount (Sept. 19).

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Players Mentioned

Tyrah Ariail

Ally Batenhorst

Adonia Faumuina

Jadyn Livings

Gala Trubint

Mia Tuaniga