No. 20 USC Women's Volleyball Opens Big Ten Era with Ohio State, Nebraska

LOS ANGELES – The No. 20-ranked USC women's volleyball team (8-2) rides a five-match win streak into its first weekend of conference play as Ohio State (7-3) comes to Galen Center for a Friday-night bout (Sept. 27) at 7 p.m. PT. The Trojans are 35-13 all-time in league openers but will have to turn the page quickly after facing the Buckeyes to take a return trip to the Midwest for a Sunday-night matchup (Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m. CT/4:30 p.m. PT) with No. 2 Nebraska (10-1) at Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb. Both matches are set to be shown live on Big Ten Network.

THIS WEEK
B1G PREMIERE

MATCH #11 • Friday, Sept. 27 • 7 p.m. PT
No. 20 USC (8-2, 0-0) vs. Ohio State (7-3, 0-0)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 4-2 (.667)
LAST MEETING: L 3-0 (Dec. 3, 2022 • Columbus, Ohio)
STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-2
TV: Big Ten Network (Paul Sunderland & Camryn Irwin)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: OhioStateBuckeyes.com

MATCH #12 • Sunday, Sept. 29 • 6:30 p.m. CT (4:30 p.m. PT)
No. 20 USC (8-2, 0-0) at No. 2 Nebraska (10-1, 0-0)
Bob Devaney Sports Center • Lincoln, Neb.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 5-2 (.714)
LAST MEETING: L 3-1 (Aug. 31, 2008 • Omaha, Neb.)
STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 5-2
TV: Big Ten Network (Larry Punteney & Lauren Stivrins)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: Huskers.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 71-49 (.592) as the Trojans' head coach.
The Trojans are 209-57 all-time at Galen Center (.786).
USC is 35-13 all-time in conference openers, which includes a 20-5 mark when the Trojans open league play at home. USC has won its last two conference openers; 2022 (3-1) and 2023 (3-2) both at UCLA.
USC's five-match win streak is its longest since the Trojans won nine in a row between Sept. 8-Oct. 1, 2023.
The Women of Troy are 7-7 all-time in the state of Nebraska and are 4-0 in the city of Lincoln (2-0 in 1985 and 2-0 in 2003).
Sr. S Mia Tuaniga has started as the Trojans' setter for each of the last three seasons and has 3,704 career assists to rank sixth in school history. She was selected to the Big Ten Preseason All-Conference Team.
Jr. LIB Gala Trubint has logged 54 career matches in double-digit digs and has 15-career matches with 20-plus digs.
Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst ranks eighth in the Big Ten for kills (3.84 kps) and is sixth in the league for points (4.63 pps).
Sr. MB Tyrah Ariail is fourth in the Big Ten in blocks (1.40 bps) and ranks 25th in the nation. As a team, USC ranks second in the conference (3rd in the NCAA) for blocks at 3.17 bps.
The Trojans play their first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference in 2024 and were picked to finish seventh in a preseason coaches poll.

LAST TIME OUT: USC claimed the Trojans/Lions Invitational crown with three wins over Loyola Marymount (3-2), UNLV (3-1), and UC San Diego (3-1). The Women of Troy extended their win streak to five matches to close out nonconference play and put three players on the all-tournament team including Most Outstanding Player Ally Batenhorst. Mia Tuaniga and Grae Gosnell also earned all-tourney recognition. Batenhorst ran her streak of double-digit kills matches to 10 and produced her fourth double-double of the season which included a career-high 18 kills. Tuaniga had a pair of double-doubles and racked up her 16th and 17th career matches with three or more service aces. Jadyn Livings continued where she left off the previous week and posted double-digit kills in three matches; and logged her first-career double-double. Gosnell stepped into the libero jersey in the absence of starter Gala Trubint and posted a career-high 20 digs in the Trojans' win over the Tritons.

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 531 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 209-57 (.786) 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.

B1G AWARDS: Sr. Mia Tuaniga was chosen as the Big Ten Setter of the Week and OH Jadyn Livings was awarded Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 23. The two honors are the first ever earned by Trojan players as members of the Big Ten Conference. For Livings, it is her first weekly award of any kind. Tuaniga takes home her first weekly award since she was tabbed for Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors in 2021.

OH! SO CORNY: The Trojans are an even 7-7 in 14 matches played in the Cornhusker State. USC is 4-0 in Lincoln and 3-7 in Omaha. In 2017 and 2022, the Trojans played at D.J. Sokol Arena as part of a rotating tournament that included USC, Creighton, Kentucky, and Northern Iowa. The Women of Troy made trips to Lincoln in 1985 and 2003.

CORNY CONNECTIONS: Three Women of Troy have hailed from the Cornhusker State. Freshman LIB/DS Paisley Douglas returned to her hometown of Omaha when the Trojans played in the Creighton Classic (Sept. 5-6). She is the third Trojan with roots in the state. LIB/DS Raegan LeGrand (2016-19) was the first-ever Nebraska native—from Papillion—to wear the Cardinal and Gold. Setter Elle Glock (2021; Wahoo, Neb.) played one season at USC before transferring to Louisville. OH Ally Batenhorst played three seasons at Nebraska before she transferred to join the Women of Troy for the 2024 season. Associate head coach Tyler Hildebrand was an assistant coach for the Cornhuskers for three seasons (2017, '20, '21).

DOUBLE DOWN: Six Trojans have recorded career double-doubles. Setter Mia Tuaniga owns 32 double-doubles in her career (one triple-double on Sept. 30, 2022, against Colorado). OPP Adonia Faumuina logged a double-double in her first-collegiate match as she led the Women of Troy to a win over crosstown rival UCLA. OH London Wijay had back-to-back double-doubles in road matches at Purdue and UCLA for her first two of her career and now has nine-career double-doubles. LIB Gala Trubint had a 20-dig, 10-assist double-double against Arizona State in 2022 for the first of her career. OH Ally Batenhorst owns six-career double-doubles, twice as a Husker in 2022. OH Jadyn Livings recorded her first-career double-double on Sept. 21 with 13 kills and 11 digs in a win over UC San Diego.

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Players Mentioned

Tyrah Ariail

Ally Batenhorst

Paisley Douglas

Adonia Faumuina

Grae Gosnell

Jadyn Livings

Gala Trubint

Mia Tuaniga

London Wijay