No. 21 USC Women's Volleyball Rides Out Waves to Take 3-0 Season Opener

Friday, August 30

Malibu, Calif.

6:00 p.m.

USC

1-0,0-0Big Ten

Pepperdine

0-1,0-0WCC

Southern California

Pepperdine

Photo by: Drake Lee

No. 21 USC Women's Volleyball Rides Out Waves to Take 3-0 Season Opener

August 30, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 2024 USC Schedule Box Score

The Women of Troy took down Pepperdine in straight sets behind a double-double from London Wijay

MALIBU, Calif. – The No. 21-ranked USC women's volleyball team (1-0) racked up a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) of Pepperdine (0-1) in the Trojans' season opener at Firestone Fieldhouse on Friday, Aug. 30.

KEY PLAYERS

So. OH London Wijay led all players in both kills (15) and digs (15) and did it with .406 hitting (15-2-32) to post her seventh-career double-double. She also had one of the Trojans' three service aces.
Sr. S Mia Tuaniga dished out 43 assists and set USC to .390 hitting with three digs, two blocks, and a service ace. She moved her career total to 3,352 and climbed into seventh—ahead of Missy McCaw (1990-93)—all-time at USC for assists.
Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst finished with 11 kills (4e, 25att) on .280 hitting with four digs and two blocks.
So. LIB Gala Trubint put up 14 digs for her 49th-career match in double-digit digs.
Sr. MB Tyrah Ariail tallied six kills (1e, 10att) to hit .500 and led all players with five blocks (one solo).
So. OPP Adonia Faumuina totaled a career-high 10 kills (3e) on 20 attacks for .350 hitting and added three digs and two blocks in her first match since the end of the 2022 season.
Fr. MB Favor Anyanwu posted seven kills (0e, 11att) for .636 hitting in her collegiate debut.
For the Waves Riley Simpson led with 13 kills while Trinity Stanger had 11 digs on defense.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Trojans had the edge in kills (49-36), digs (48-37), and blocks (6.5-2.0). Pepperdine had six aces to USC's three.
Pepperdine scored the first three points of the match, but USC replied with a 7-2 run and claimed a 10-8 lead on a kill by Anyanwu. From there, the Trojans maintained their lead to close out a 25-19 win on a kill by Faumuina. The Women of Troy posted 5.5 blocks in the opening set and held the Waves to a negative .032 hitting percentage.
Batenhorst had five of her kills in the second set while Wijay put up eight digs and four kills to help power the Trojans to a 25-20 win for a 2-0 lead in the match. USC weathered four aces by the Waves and posted 25 digs in the set-two win.
USC led by as many as four points twice in the third set, but Pepperdine caught the Trojans at 19-all and the teams were tied for a fourth time at 20-all. USC embarked on a 5-1 run, which included two kills from Batenhorst, to close out the match with a straight-set sweep.

UP NEXT

The Trojans return to Firestone Fieldhouse for another meeting with the Waves on Saturday, Aug. 31. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT and the match will be shown live on ESPN+.

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 40-8 all-time against Pepperdine and extended its active win streak in the series to seven matches dating back to the 2006 season.
The Women of Troy improved to 39-10 in season openers with a 27-8 mark on the road and a 14-5 record as the true road team. Against Pepperdine specifically, USC goes to 3-1 when the teams meet in the Trojans' season opener.
The Trojans improve to 14-2 in matches played in Malibu, Calif., all against the Waves.

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.