No. 16 USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 3 Penn State in Four

Saturday, October 26

Los Angeles, Calif.

8:00 p.m.

USC

14-6,6-4Big Ten

Penn State

20-1,10-0Big Ten

Penn St.

Southern California

Photo by: Drake Lee

No. 16 USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 3 Penn State in Four

October 26, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

The Women of Troy had three players in double-digit kills in a loss to the Nittany Lions

LOS ANGELES – The 16th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (14-6, 6-4 Big Ten) was defeated in four sets (25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 32-30) by third-ranked Penn State (20-1, 10-0) at Galen Center on Saturday, Oct. 26.

KEY PLAYERS

Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst led all players with 19.5 points scored on 16 kills, a service ace, and five blocks. Batenhorst also collected nine digs and passed 33 balls for the Trojans.
Fr. OPP Jadyn Livings scored 13 kills (5e, 34att) on .235 hitting to go with nine digs, four blocks, and had a service ace.
Redshirt So. OH Adonia Faumuina had 10 kills to go with two blocks and a dig.
Sr. S Mia Tuaniga put up 43 assists and had 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season (34th career) with 11 digs.
Jr. LIB Gala Trubint racked up 11 digs for her 61st-career match in double digits and put up five assists.
Redshirt Fr. MB Leah Ford had nine kills (2e, 12att) with .583 hitting and put up four blocks.
Sr. MB Tyrah Ariail had 11.0 points on six kills, eight blocks, and a service ace.
For the Nittany Lions, Jess Mruzik had 16 kills and 10 digs for the double-double. Camryn Hannah had 14 kills, three digs, and the match-clinching service ace. Izzy Starck recorded 43 assists to go with 16 digs and seven kills. Caroline Jurevicius had eight kills and seven blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State collected 14 kills and hit .333 to get a 25-18 set-one win as six Lions had two or more kills. PSU put up four blocks and had a 14-12 edge in digs to hold the Trojans to an .029 hitting percentage (9k, 8e) on 34 attacks. Batenhorst had four of USC's kills while Faumuina and Livings each had two.
Down five at 11-6 in set two, the Trojans went on a 9-2 run to take a 15-13 lead and were never tied again to wrap up a 25-20 win to square the match at two sets apiece. USC got six kills from Batenhorst and four from Ford as the team hit .281 with 15 kills (6e) on 32 swings. The Trojans had three blocks to help hold the Lions to a .167 hitting rate (11k, 6e) on 30 tries.
The Trojans led, 7-6, in set three when the Nittany Lions ripped through a 13-1 run to snag a 19-8 lead. USC responded with an 8-2 run of its own to close the gap and came as close as three points at 22-19 before Penn State went on top, 2-1, with a 25-20 win. Faumuina and Livings each scored four kills while Ford and Ariail tallied three each in the third set. Trubint added five digs with Livings and Batenhorst in tow with four digs each.
It took 17 ties and seven lead changes to decide the winner of set four, but Penn State prevailed, 32-30, on a service ace from Hannah. The Trojans trailed by two once early but led by as many as five at 21-16 and 23-18. A 6-1 run by the Lions leveled the score at 24-all, but USC managed to grab set point three more times before Penn State went ahead at 28-27. The Lions had match point four times before clinching the win, but not before the Trojans staved off three finishes with kills from Livings who closed the frame with five kills. Batenhorst had six kills, and the Trojans put up 7.5 blocks in the fourth to help hold Penn State to a .146 hitting rate (18k, 12e, 41att).

UP NEXT

USC takes on crosstown rival UCLA (10-9, 4-6 Big Ten) for a second time this season when the teams clash at Pauley Pavilion on Halloween Night (Thursday, Oct. 31). The match will be carried live by Big Ten Network with a 6:30 p.m. PT start. The Trojans claimed a five-set victory when the teams met on Oct. 13 at Galen Center.

MATCH NOTES

USC fell to 2-3 all-time against Penn State and to 1-1 at home (2000).
The Trojans reached double-digit blocks (12.5) in a match for the 13th time this season.
USC goes to 213-59 all-time at Galen Center and to 128-47 in conference matches played in the building.

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.