No. 20 USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 2 Nebraska

Sunday, September 29

Lincoln, Neb.

4:30 p.m.

USC

9-3,1-1Big Ten

Nebraska

12-1,2-0Big Ten

Southern California

Nebraska

Photo by: Aaron Wilson

No. 20 USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 2 Nebraska

September 29, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

The Trojans were led by a 13-kill performance from Ally Batenhorst who returned to face her former team

LINCOLN, Neb. – The No. 20-ranked USC women's volleyball team (9-3, 1-1 Big Ten) fell to No. 2 Nebraska (12-1, 2-0) in straight sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-16) at Devaney Sports Center on Sunday, Sept. 29.

KEY PLAYERS

Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst returned to her undergraduate alma mater to a rousing ovation and led the Trojans' offense with 13 kills (5e, 33att) on .242 hitting for her 12th match in double-digit kills to go with nine digs and a block.
Sr. S Mia Tuaniga put up 29 assists and had three digs and a kill.
Redshirt So. OPP Adonia Faumuina collected five kills and had two digs and a block.
Redshirt Jr. MB Tyrah Ariail racked up five kills without an error on 13 swings to hit .455 and had one block.
Fr. MB Favor Anyanwu had four kills (1e, 13att, .231) and a solo block.
Jr. LIB Gala Trubint put up 10 digs to pick up her 55th-career match in double-digit digs.
For the Cornhuskers, Harper Murray led with 12 kills and added six digs and two service aces. Bergen Reilly had 33 assists and added three kills and eight digs. Merritt Beason had 11 kills and nine digs. Lexi Rodriguez led all players with 13 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Huskers led by as many as 12 points and had set point at 24-12 but the Trojans mounted a 6-0 run to close the gap behind the service provision of Jadyn Livings. Nebraska took set one, 25-18, with 12 kills and .364 hitting led by four kills from Andi Jackson. Batenhorst powered the USC offense with six kills in the opening frame, but the Trojans hit .192 as a team and surrendered seven points on serves with four service errors and three reception errors.
USC led by as many as three in the second set, but the Huskers tied the score for the ninth time at 18-all and used a 6-0 run to head the other direction for a 21-18 lead. The Trojans chipped away and closed to within two of set point at 24-22, but a service error ended USC's comeback bid as Nebraska went up, 2-0, with a 25-22 win. The Women of Troy hit .205 with 15 kills and got five of those from Batenhorst. The Huskers hit .262 and had 16 kills led by nine from Murray.
The Trojans held an early two-point lead in the third, 5-3, but the Huskers broke the sixth tie of the set and went ahead for good at 8-7. Nebraska's lead grew to 11 points at match point, 24-13, but USC claimed three straight rallies before a service error ended the match and cemented the 3-0 sweep for the Huskers. Ariail and Batenhorst each had two kills apiece in set three, while Batenhorst and Trubint each had four digs.

UP NEXT

The Women of Troy return home to host Michigan (12-1, 2-0 Big Ten) and Minnesota (8-4, 1-1) at Galen Center to open October. The Trojans take on the Wolverines on Friday (Oct. 4) at 7 p.m. PT and will be shown on a Big Ten Plus stream. USC gets the Golden Gophers on Saturday (Oct. 5) for an 8 p.m. PT matchup that will be carried live by Big Ten Network.

MATCH NOTES

USC fell to 5-3 all-time against Nebraska and moved to 1-1 against the Huskers in Lincoln.
The Trojans' season-long six-match win streak came to an end.
USC was swept in straight sets in a road match for the first time since Oct. 13, 2023; a loss at No. 3 Stanford.
The Women of Troy fell to 7-8 all-time in the state of Nebraska and to 4-1 in the city of Lincoln.
Each of the Trojans' three losses this season have been to teams now ranked in the top 10 including No. 1 Pittsburgh, No. 2 Nebraska, and No. 6 Creighton.

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.