LOS ANGELES – The 17th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (20-7, 12-4 Pac-12) collected its fifth consecutive win on a five-set victory (20-25, 25-17, 27-29, 25-11, 15-11) over No. 25 Colorado (19-8, 9-7) on Saturday, Nov. 11, at Galen Center. The Women of Troy exacted revenge on the Buffaloes after suffering a 3-0 sweep in Boulder in the teams' first meeting.
 
The Trojans' five-match streak matches the longest of the season (Sept. 15-Oct. 1) and the win improves USC to 5-1 in five-set matches this fall. The Women of Troy also earned their seventh win over a ranked opponent this season.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier led all players with 26.0 points as she poured in 21 kills (5e, 48att, .333) to go with 14 digs, four service aces, and a solo block. It was Lanier's sixth double-double of the season and the 22nd of her career. Freshman outside hitter Brooke Botkin posted 15.5 points with 14 kills (5e, 31att) and hit .290. Botkin finished with three digs, one block, and a service ace.
 
As a team, USC hit .257 in the match (60k, 24e, 140att). Senior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley dished out 23 assists and had seven digs with one service ace. Sophomore setter Cindy Marina also had 23 assists and had five digs and three service aces. The Trojans served nine aces to Colorado's two.
 
Senior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie put up 11 kills and had a pair of blocks. Fellow senior opposite Niki Withers added 10 kills (4e, 19att) and hit .316 with three digs, and three blocks (one solo). On defense, junior libero Victoria Garrick put up 10 digs and had seven assists. Sophomore defender Jenna Adams also had 10 digs. Off the bench, junior middle blocker Madison Murtagh had four blocks (one solo). Senior middle blocker Jordan Dunn had four kills and three blocks (one solo).
 
For the Buffaloes, Frankie Shebby led the way with 21 kills (6e, 52att, .288) with 12 digs for the double-double. Shebby also had six blocks (one solo). Brynna DeLuzio also recorded a double-double with 41 assists and 11 digs. Naghede Abu added eight kills (1e, 17att, .412) with two blocks. Middle blocker Anna Pfefferle and opposite Joslyn Hayes were each held to negative hitting percentages while Alexa Smith, CU's other go-to pin-hitter was held to 11 kills (.200).
 
The Women of Troy claimed an early three-point lead at 9-6 in the first set, but the Buffaloes used an 8-1 run to grab a 14-10 lead. Unfazed, the Trojans fought back to knot the score at 15-all on a block by Murtagh and Withers, and led by a point (18-17) on a kill by Botkin. Colorado had a response, however, when it ripped through a 7-0 run to take set point at 24-18. The Trojans saved two, but Pfefferle earned the final kill in a 25-20 win. The Buffs out-hit USC, .290 to .171, in the opening frame and had 3.5 blocks.
 
The fifth tie of the second set was broken when Meyer-Whalley served an ace off the tape. The Trojans extended to a four-point lead at 11-7 on back-to-back kills by Lanier and Abercrombie; and pushed out to an 18-12 advantage on a kill by Botkin. USC never relented and got up by nine points, 24-15, on a service ace by Marina. The Buffaloes staved off two points before Withers returned an overpass for the kill to sew up a 25-17 win. USC earned 12 kills with a .250 hitting rate in the second and held the Buffaloes to a .100 outing.
 
Colorado erased a three-point USC lead, 17-14, to knot the third set at 18, but the Trojans stepped ahead for a 21-19 lead. The Buffs continued to fight back and earned set point at 24-23, but USC flipped the score to take set point on a kill and an ace by Botkin. CU saved two set points and scored the final three points to claim a 29-27 win and take a 2-1 lead in the match. USC had 14 kills and hit .194 in the third frame, but the Buffaloes collected 17 kills with a .237 hitting rate for the win.
 
Withers' kill in the fourth pushed USC into a three-all tie, but Botkin's next swing and three straight aces by Lanier sent the Trojans on an unbelievable scoring run that culminated in a 25-11 victory. USC hit .588 and had 12 kills while Colorado managed just four kills and hit .000 in the set. The Trojans got three straight kills from Abercrombie to lead by 10 at 15-5, and extended to a 23-8 lead on a service ace by Marina. Lanier scored the kill for set point and Botkin closed the set with her tool shot.
 
The Trojans went ahead, 4-2, in the fifth frame when Dunn collected her second kill of the set and Lanier scored her fourth ace, but Colorado scored a 4-0 run to later lead, 8-6, at the side change. Botkin's kill snapped the Buffalo run, but Colorado went back on top at 9-8 on a kill by Smith. Lanier's kill and a block by Abercrombie and Dunn turned the tables and put USC on top, 10-9. The score was tied for a sixth time at 10-all before another ace by Marina and a kill by Withers pushed the Trojans out to a 13-10 lead. The Buffaloes scored one more point, but a CU service error gave the Trojans match point before Withers ended a long rally with her final kill of the day in a 15-11 win for the Women of Troy. USC scored nine of its points on kills and hit .250 in the fifth set.
 
USC will play its next three matches on the road and will start with a trip to the Bay Area to take on Stanford (21-3, 14-1 Pac-12) at Maples Pavilion on the Pac-12 Network's midweek Spike Night (Wednesday, Nov. 15) at 7 p.m. PT. The Trojans then take on California (13-14, 4-12) on Friday, Nov. 17, at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. The USC-Cal matchup will be streamed live on Pac-12+ with first serve set for 6 p.m. PT.
 
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Periscope, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
 
MATCH NOTES

• USC improved to 15-1 in all-time matches against Colorado and avenged a loss to the Buffaloes earlier this season (Oct. 20).
• The Trojans won their fifth straight match; the second time this season that USC has had a streak of that length (Sept. 15-Oct. 1).
• USC improved to 5-1 in five-set matches played this season.
• The Women of Troy improved to 10-1 at the Galen Center this year (149-31 all-time).
• The victory is the Trojans' seventh over a ranked opponent this season; six times as the lower-ranked team.
• USC's win is the 1,300th career victory for head coach Mick Haley; a total that includes wins at Kellogg Community College with both the men's and women's varsity teams.
• The Trojans earned their 20th win in a season for the 13th time (17 seasons) under head coach Mick Haley.
• Sophomore OH Khalia Lanier scored her sixth double-double of the season (21 kills, 14 digs) and the 22nd of her career.