USC Women's Volleyball Closes Preseason Play in Five-Set Home Bout with Lions

Wednesday, August 19

Los Angeles, Calif.

6:00 p.m. PT

USC

Loyola Marymount

Photo by: John McGillen

USC Women's Volleyball Closes Preseason Play in Five-Set Home Bout with Lions

August 19, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

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The Women of Troy hosted LMU at Galen Center for an exhibition match

LOS ANGELES – The 20th-ranked USC women's volleyball team hosted Loyola Marymount for an exhibition match at Galen Center on Wednesday, Aug. 19. The Lions won three of the five sets played, 25-23, 17-25, 16-25, 25-16, 16-14.

KEY PLAYERS

RS Jr. OH London Wijay had five kills, seven digs, and two blocks.
Jr. MB Mia Tvrdy scored six kills with .308 hitting and led the Trojans with five blocks (two solo).
RS Jr. MB Leah Ford hit .500 with eight kills (1e) on 14 attacks and had four blocks (one solo).
RS Sr. OH Adonia Faumuina had six kills (1e, 12att) to hit .417 and added three digs, a block, and a service ace.
So. OPP Abigail Mullen led USC with 11.0 points on nine kills, two blocks, and a service ace.
So. LIB Taylor Deckert reached nine digs and had four assists.
Jr. S Lilli Etter put up 28 assists and had eight digs to go with two kills, a block, and a service ace.
For the Lions, Nicole Schuetz had 11 kills and Maria Tabacuks had 10. Gabriella Cascione led all players with 14 digs and Delfina Schuh had 12. Camille Pomery had a match-high eight blocks (two solo).

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Trojans' starters played the full duration of the opening set and the bulk of sets two and three. The first set had nine ties and four lead changes. USC led by as many as five at 17-12 and broke the eighth tie with a 3-0 run to lead, 20-17, but the Lions came out ahead for a 25-23 win with a pair of blocks for their last two points.
USC—which hit .306 in the second set—pushed ahead for a 3-2 lead and the never trailed again en route to a 25-17 win to even the match. Mullen collected four kills while Faumuina, Ford, and Wijay each had three a piece. The Trojans ripped open a 10-2 lead in the third and were never threatened on the way to a 25-16 win for a 2-1 lead in the match. USC served three aces and had a pair of blocks to go with 13 kills on .233 hitting for the win.
The Trojans' newcomer corps came in for the fourth and built an early lead before the Lions came back to claim the set, 25-16, behind .435 hitting. Quinn Loper and Riley Malloy each had four kills in the fourth set while Elena Baic dished out 10 assists.
USC's freshmen fought valiantly in the fifth and led by as many as four at 10-6 on a kill by Taliyah Hanks, but LMU came back once more and closed out a 16-14 win despite hitting .000. USC got two kills each from Loper, Hanks, and Malloy, while Milly McGee put up six assists and had a pair of digs.

UP NEXT

The 20th-ranked Trojans will play their first four regular-season matches away from home and begin with No. 12 Arizona State and No. 13 Creighton at the State Farm Showcase in Sioux Falls, S.D., Aug. 29-30, at the Sanford Pentagon. USC takes on the Sun Devils on Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. CT (12 p.m. PT) on FS1. The Trojans and the Bluejays meet on Aug. 30 for a noon CT match (10 a.m. PT) that will be carried live by Big Ten Network.

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, TikTok, and Instagram.