Six USC Women's Volleyball Players Garner Big Ten Postseason Awards

USC women's volleyball 2025 Big Ten postseason award winners

Six USC Women's Volleyball Players Garner Big Ten Postseason Awards

December 02, 2025 | Women's Volleyball

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London Wijay was a unanimous selection to the Big Ten’s all-conference first team

ROSEMONT, Ill. – USC women's volleyball redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay (Porter Ranch, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) and freshman setter Reese Messer (Olathe, Kan./Saint James Academy) were named to the Big Ten All-Conference First Team to headline six Women of Troy tabbed for postseason honors by the Conference on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Leah Ford (Keller, Texas/Keller HS) and freshman libero Taylor Deckert (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) were each chosen for All-Big Ten Second Team honors. Messer and freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen (Kansas City, Mo./Liberty HS) were each selected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and senior defensive specialist Gala Trubint (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS) was chosen as USC's Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree for the second straight year.

Ford was also an All-Big Ten second-team choice in 2024, but the three freshmen and Wijay each earn their first-career all-conference awards. Wijay was on the Pac-12's All-Freshman Team in 2023 and was a Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention.

Wijay—one of nine unanimous first-team selections—ranks 10th in the Big Ten for kills (378) and is 11th in kills per set (3.53 kps). She has reached double-digit kills 22 times and double-digit points 24 times this season; and recorded career highs of 25 kills and 65 attacks to lead USC to a road win at ninth-ranked Wisconsin. Wijay earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors twice (Oct. 20, Nov. 3) and has produced seven double-doubles in 2025 to reach 16 in her career.

Messer was a two-time choice for Big Ten Setter of the Week (Nov. 3, Dec. 1) and is a two-time Freshman of the Week award winner (Sept. 22, Oct. 27). She is one of just three freshmen on the all-conference first team and leads the Big Ten in assists per set (10.78 aps) to rank eighth nationally. Messer is one of two Trojans to have played every set for USC this season and has totaled 1,175 assists, 251 digs, 69 kills, 66 blocks, and 15 service aces to reach 120.0 points. She has produced 10 double-doubles and set USC to 10 matches over .300 hitting.

Ford leads the Big Ten in blocking (1.35 bps) and ranks seventh in the conference for hitting at .364. She was a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week winner (Sept. 1, Nov. 24) and produced her first-career double-double with 10 kills and 11 blocks in a win over Loyola Marymount on Aug. 31. She has reached double-digit points 10 times this season with a career-high 18.5 points in the match at LMU.

Deckert was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week on Oct. 20. She has reached double-digit digs 18 times and recorded her first-career double-double with 13 digs and 10 assists in a match against San Diego (Sept. 6). She ranks ninth in the conference for digs (348) and is 10th in digs per set (3.28 dps).

Mullen is a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week (Nov. 10, Dec. 1) and was named the MVP of the Trojan Invitational. She is third in the Big Ten for service aces (0.44 saps) and ranks fifth in the league with 47 total aces on the season. She has reached double-digit kills 17 times and double-digit points 23 times as a freshman to go with seven double-doubles.

Trubint earns her second straight Big Ten Sportsmanship award and is one of just two Trojans (Messer) to have appeared in all 109 sets this season. Though her role in the lineup has changed, Trubint has produced five matches in double-digit digs and became just the ninth player in program history to cross the 1,400-career dig mark (1,405 to date).

The 14th-ranked Trojans (24-6, 15-5 Big Ten) finished the regular season tied for third in the Big Ten and were awarded one of 33 at-large berths—and a hosting bid—into the 2025 NCAA tournament. USC makes its fourth straight appearance in the tourney under sixth-year head coach Brad Keller (41st all-time), and faces Ivy League champion Princeton (18-6) in the first round on Thursday (Dec. 4) at approximately 7 p.m. PT. In the other first-round match set for 5 p.m., fifth-seeded BYU (22-8) of the Big XII will face Big West champion Cal Poly (25-7). The winners of the two first-round contests advance to the second round to play on Friday (Dec. 5) at 7 p.m. PT. All three matches at Galen Center will be shown live on ESPN+. Tickets for individual days and an all-session package are available at USCTrojans.com/ncaawvb.

For more information on the USC women's volleyball team, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.