Photo by: Jon Kondrath
USC Women's Volleyball's Leah Ford Named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week
September 01, 2025 | Women's Volleyball
The Trojans’ middle blocker had 11 kills and 10 blocks in her season debut to log her first-career double-double
ROSEMONT, Ill. – USC women's volleyball redshirt sophomore middle blocker Leah Ford (Keller, Texas/Keller HS) was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 25-31, the Conference announced on Monday, Sept. 1.
It is the first-career award for Ford and the fifth all-time Big Ten weekly honor for a USC player. Last season—the Trojans' first as a member of the Big Ten—Mia Tuaniga was chosen for Setter of the Week laurels twice; OH Ally Batenhorst was named the Player of the Week once and OH Jadyn Livings earned the Freshman of the Week award once.
In her season debut on Sunday, Ford racked her first-career double-double with 11 kills and 10 blocks—both career-high marks. She had the 11 kills on just 16 swings (1e) to hit .625 and three of her 10 blocks were of the solo variety to go with a service ace for a career-best 18.5 points. She is the first USC player to reach double-digit blocks in a match since Lindsey Miller had 11 blocks in a five-set match at Hawai'i (Aug. 31) in 2023. She is also the first Trojan to produce a double-double with blocks since that same match (Miller had 10 kills). Ford—a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2024—crossed the 100-block mark in her career with the performance.
Among other award winners, Minnesota's Julia Hanson was named the conference's Player of the Week, and the Gophers' Stella Swenson was chosen as the Setter of the Week. Oregon's Alanah Clemente was selected as the Freshman of the Week.
USC (2-0) opened the season with a pair of wins including a 3-0 sweep of Denver in front of a record crowd of 5,606 in its season opener. The Trojans then went on the road and collected a four-set win over Loyola Marymount. This week, the Women of Troy host UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 5, 7 p.m. PT), San Diego (Sept. 6, 7 p.m.), and Creighton (Sept. 7, 1 p.m.) for the Trojan Invitational at Galen Center. USC-UCSB and USC-USD will both be shown on Big Ten Plus streams and the USC-Creighton contest will be carried live on Big Ten Network.
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.
It is the first-career award for Ford and the fifth all-time Big Ten weekly honor for a USC player. Last season—the Trojans' first as a member of the Big Ten—Mia Tuaniga was chosen for Setter of the Week laurels twice; OH Ally Batenhorst was named the Player of the Week once and OH Jadyn Livings earned the Freshman of the Week award once.
In her season debut on Sunday, Ford racked her first-career double-double with 11 kills and 10 blocks—both career-high marks. She had the 11 kills on just 16 swings (1e) to hit .625 and three of her 10 blocks were of the solo variety to go with a service ace for a career-best 18.5 points. She is the first USC player to reach double-digit blocks in a match since Lindsey Miller had 11 blocks in a five-set match at Hawai'i (Aug. 31) in 2023. She is also the first Trojan to produce a double-double with blocks since that same match (Miller had 10 kills). Ford—a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2024—crossed the 100-block mark in her career with the performance.
Among other award winners, Minnesota's Julia Hanson was named the conference's Player of the Week, and the Gophers' Stella Swenson was chosen as the Setter of the Week. Oregon's Alanah Clemente was selected as the Freshman of the Week.
USC (2-0) opened the season with a pair of wins including a 3-0 sweep of Denver in front of a record crowd of 5,606 in its season opener. The Trojans then went on the road and collected a four-set win over Loyola Marymount. This week, the Women of Troy host UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 5, 7 p.m. PT), San Diego (Sept. 6, 7 p.m.), and Creighton (Sept. 7, 1 p.m.) for the Trojan Invitational at Galen Center. USC-UCSB and USC-USD will both be shown on Big Ten Plus streams and the USC-Creighton contest will be carried live on Big Ten Network.
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.
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