No. 23 USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 1 Pittsburgh in Home Opener

Wednesday, September 11

Los Angeles, Calif.

6:00 p.m.

USC

3-2,0-0Big Ten

Pittsburgh

4-0,0-0ACC

Pittsburgh

Southern California

Photo by: Katie Chin

No. 23 USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 1 Pittsburgh in Home Opener

September 11, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Highlights Box Score

The Women of Troy were led by a 15-kill performance from Ally Batenhorst

LOS ANGELES – The No. 23-ranked USC women's volleyball team (3-2) fell in a 3-0 sweep (31-29, 25-18, 25-16) to No. 1 Pittsburgh (4-0) in the Trojans' home opener at Galen Center on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

KEY PLAYERS

Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst led the Trojans with 16.5 points gained on 15 kills and three blocks to go with seven digs.
Sr. S Mia Tuaniga put up 33 assists and had four digs, two blocks, a kill, and the Trojans' only service ace.
Jr. LIB Gala Trubint led the team with 10 digs to reach double-digit digs for the 53rd time in her career.
Redshirt So. OPP Adonia Faumuina scored seven kills to go with three digs and a block.
Fr. MB Favor Anyanwu led the Trojans in blocks with four and added six kills.
Redshirt Jr. MB Tyrah Ariail posted seven kills to go with three blocks (one solo) and had two digs.
For the Panthers, Olivia Babcock had 17 kills, five digs, three blocks, and two service aces. Torrey Stafford added 13 kills with three digs and four blocks. Rachel Fairbanks dished out 38 assists to go with eight digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Trojans got eight kills from Batenhorst in the opening frame and hit .204 to score 23 points, but the Panthers claimed set one, 31-29, behind six kills apiece from Babcock and Stafford. Trubint had six of USC's 18 digs and both teams were even from the service line with one ace and four errors on each side. After 15 ties and six lead changes, Pitt's service ace came on the final point of the frame to close out the win.
Pitt took control of the second set early on and finished off a 25-18 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Panthers hit .395 and got eight kills from Babcock in the win. Pitt also out-dug the Trojans, 16-10, in the frame to hold USC to a .212 hitting rate. Faumuina had three kills while Anyanwu, Ariail, and Batenhorst each had two apiece.
The Panthers completed the sweep with a 25-16 win in the third. USC was within a point at 11-10 and threatened a short comeback run late in the set, but Pitt held off the Trojans with four service aces and four blocks; an effort that held USC to a .059 hitting rate. Batenhorst tallied five more kills in the set and the Trojans out-dug Pitt, 13-8, but it was not enough.

UP NEXT

The Trojans have a quick turnaround as they host Utah State (1-4) for the first of two matches as part of the USC/LMU Classic tournament at Galen Center. The match is set for a 7 p.m. PT start on Thursday (Sept. 12) and will be carried live on Big Ten Plus (B1G+).

MATCH NOTES

USC fell to 3-2 all-time against Pittsburgh and has lost each of the last two matches with the Panthers.
The Trojans go to 39-10 all-time in home openers with a 12-6 mark at Galen Center.
The Women of Troy faced a No. 1-ranked opponent for the 32nd time in program history and fell to 8-24 in those contests, which includes a 4-9 record when at home. USC fell to 3-3 in matches with No. 1 at Galen Center specifically.
The Trojans were swept at home by an opponent for the first time since Nov. 24, 2021; a loss to No. 18 Stanford.
Last year, USC's 3,314 fans in attendance for its home opener against UC Davis was the most in a 10-year span. This year, attendance for the home opener was 3,633.

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.