No. 21 USC Women's Volleyball Tops Tritons in Nonconference Finale

Saturday, September 21

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

USC

8-2,0-0Big Ten

UC San Diego

6-5,0-0Big West

UC San Diego

Southern California

Photo by: Aaron Wilson

No. 21 USC Women's Volleyball Tops Tritons in Nonconference Finale

September 21, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score 2024 USC Schedule

Ally Batenhorst was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Trojans/Lions Invitational

LOS ANGELES – The No. 21-ranked USC women's volleyball team (8-2) won the Trojans/Lions Invitational with a four-set victory (30-32, 25-20, 25-19, 25-11) over UC San Diego (6-5) at Galen Center on Saturday, Sept. 21. It was the fifth straight win for the Trojans who conclude nonconference play and open the Big Ten schedule next week. Ally Batenhorst, Mia Tuaniga, and Grae Gosnell were each named to the all-tournament team with Batenhorst tabbed as the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

KEY PLAYERS

Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst matched her career high with 21.5 points earned on 17 kills (6e, 42att) with .262 hitting. It was her 10th match in double-digit kills as she added nine digs, three blocks and a career-high three service aces.
Sr. S Mia Tuaniga put up 35 assists and had eight digs with four blocks (one solo) and four kills (1e, 7att, .429). She also had four of USC's nine service aces for her 17th-career match with three service aces or more.
Fr. OH Jadyn Livings had her fourth straight match in double-digit kills and finished with 13 to go with 11 digs for her first-career double-double. Livings also got in on four blocks and had a pair of assists.
Jr. MB Rylie McGinest set a new career high with 12.5 points collected on a season-best 10 kills (2e, 17att) on .471 hitting and tied for match-high honors with five blocks.
Redshirt Fr. MB Leah Ford also had five blocks and added seven kills (0e) on 13 swings to hit .538 to go with a service ace.
Gr. OH Grae Gosnell posted her fourth straight double-digit digs match with a career-high 20 digs to go with four assists.
Jr. DS Megan Verbiest recorded her fourth match this season in double-digit digs and finished with 10 and a service ace.
For the Tritons, Ava McInnes led with 12 kills and had a team-high 19 digs. Lauren Brooker added 10 kills. Audrey Hollis dished out 29 assists to go with five digs. Paulina Baillie had 14 digs and a team-high three service aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USC out-hit UC San Diego, .245 to .076 and had more kills (55-41), assists (44-37), service aces (9-8), digs (67-59), and blocks (12.5-8.5) than the Tritons. It was the Trojans' sixth time with double-digit blocks in 10 matches.
The Trojans led in the first set by as many as six points, 8-2, but the Tritons chipped away and forced a tie at 20-all before taking a 21-20 lead. The set was tied a total of 11 times and the lead changed seven times before UCSD completed a 32-30 win. Livings and McGinest each had four kills apiece. Livings also put up six digs while Gosnell had seven. In total, the Trojans had 18 kills and hit .222 to outpace the Tritons' .135 attack rate with 15 kills.
USC led by as many as six points in the second set, but UCSD trimmed the lead to two at 21-19 before the Trojans closed out a 25-20 win with a 4-1 run. Batenhorst dropped in six kills, four digs, and had one of two service aces in the frame while Livings and Ford each tacked up three kills. USC hit .146 with 13 kills over UCSD's .053 with nine kills.
A 25-19 win in the third put the Trojans on top, 2-1, behind a seven-kill performance by Batenhorst. McGinest racked up five of her kills and Tuaniga poured in two more service aces as the Trojans scored 20.0 points. Gosnell and Tuaniga led the floor defense with four digs apiece to help hold off the Triton attack. USC finished with .382 hitting and 16 kills.
USC sewed up the victory with a dominant 25-11 win in the fourth set. Livings had three kills, and the Trojans put up four blocks to hold the Tritons to a negative .121 hitting rate. USC had three service aces, one each from Batenhorst, Ford, and Verbiest. The Trojans had eight kills and hit .318 in the set, but UCSD had 11 hitting errors in the loss.

UP NEXT

USC now turns its attention to its first season in the Big Ten Conference and will host Ohio State (6-3) for its first-ever league contest. The Trojans and the Buckeyes will meet at Galen Center for a 7 p.m. PT match on Friday (Sept. 27) and be shown live on Big Ten Network. USC leads Ohio State, 4-2, in six all-time meetings, which includes a 2-0 mark at home.

MATCH NOTES

USC and UC San Diego met for the first time.
The Trojans won their fifth straight home match at Galen Center and improved to 209-56 all-time in the arena.
USC reached double-digit blocks for the sixth time this year.
In sets that have gone extra points, the Trojans fell to 5-5 with an 0-3 mark when the score has risen into the 30s.

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.

2024 TROJANS/LIONS INVITATIONAL

FINAL STANDINGS

3-0, USC
2-1, Loyola Marymount
1-2, UNLV
0-3, UC San Diego

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
USC Ally Batenhorst, OH (MOP)
USC Mia Tuaniga, S
USC Grae Gosnell, LIB
LMU Leah Burrell, OPP
LMU Paige Flickinger, OH
UNLV Chloe Thomas, RS