Women’s volleyball | September 24, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The No. 20-ranked USC women’s volleyball team (8-2) is riding a five-match win streak in the first weekend of conference play, as Ohio State (7-3) comes to Galen Center for a battle on Friday evening (Sept. 27) at 7 p.m. hours PT. The Trojans are 35-13 all-time in league openers, but will have to turn the page quickly after facing the Buckeyes to make a return trip to the Midwest for a matchup on Sunday night (Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m. CT/4 :30 pm PT) with No. 2 Nebraska (10-1) at Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb. Both games will be shown live on Big Ten Network.

THIS WEEK

B1G PREMIERE

MATCH #11 • Friday, September 27 • 7:00 PM PT

No. 20 USC (8-2, 0-0) vs. Ohio State (7-3, 0-0)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, California.

SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 4-2 (.667)

LAST MEETING: L 3-0 (December 3, 2022 • Columbus, Ohio)

STRIPE: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-2

TV: Big Ten Network (Paul Sunderland and Camryn Irwin)

OPPOSITE WEBSITE: OhioStateBuckeyes.com

MATCH #12 • Sunday September 29 • 6:30 PM CT (4:30 PM PT)

No. 20 USC (8-2, 0-0) and No. 2 Nebraska (10-1, 0-0)
Bob Devaney Sports Center • Lincoln, Neb.

SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 5-2 (.714)

LAST MEETING: L 3-1 (31 August 2008 • Omaha, Neb.)

STRIPE: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 5-2

TV: Big Ten Network (Larry Punteney & Lauren Stivrins)

OPPOSITE WEBSITE: Huskers.com

FIRST OPERATION (TL;DR)

• USC is led by a fifth-year head coach Brad Keller who has the unique experience of having coached both men’s and women’s programs at both USC and UCLA. Overall, Keller is 71-49 (.592) as head coach of the Trojans.
• The Trojans are 209-57 all-time at Galen Center (.786).
• USC is 35-13 all-time in conference openers, including a 20-5 mark when the Trojans play the league at home. USC has won its last two conference openers; 2022 (3-1) and 2023 (3-2) both at UCLA.
• USC’s five-game winning streak is its longest since the Trojans won nine straight between September 8 and October. 1, 2023.
• The Women of Troy are 7-7 all-time in the state of Nebraska and 4-0 in the city of Lincoln (2-0 in 1985 and 2-0 in 2003).
• Sr. S Mia Tuaniga has started as the Trojans’ setter the past three seasons and has racked up 3,704 career assists, which ranks sixth in school history. She was selected for the Big Ten Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Jr. LIB Gala Trubint has recorded 54 career matches in double-digit digs and has 15 career matches with 20+ digs.
• Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst ranks eighth in the Big Ten for kills (3.84 kps) and sixth in the league for points (4.63 pps).
• Sr. MB Tyrah Ariail ranks fourth in the Big Ten in blocks (1.40 bp) and ranks 25th in the nation. As a team, USC ranks second in the conference (3rd in the NCAA) for blocks with 3.17 bp.
• The Trojans play their first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference in 2024 and were picked to finish seventh in a preseason coaches poll.

LAST TIMEOUT: USC claimed the Trojans/Lions Invitational crown with three wins over Loyola Marymount (3-2), UNLV (3-1) and UC San Diego (3-1). The Women of Troy extended their win streak to five games to close out non-conference play and place three players on the tournament team, including Most Outstanding Player Ally Batenhorst. Mia Tuaniga And Grae Gosnell also earned tournament-wide recognition. Batenhorst pushed her streak of double-digit kills matches to 10 and produced her fourth double-double of the season, including a career-high 18 kills. Tuaniga had a pair of double-doubles and recorded her 16th and 17th career matches with three or more service aces. Jadyn Livings picked up where she left off the week before, posting double-digit kills in three matches; and recorded her first career double-double. Gosnell stepped into the libero jersey in the absence of a starter Gala Trubint and posted a career-high 20 digs in the Trojans’ win over the Tritons.

AVCA POLL POSITION: The Trojans opened the 2024 season ranked No. 21 in the AVCA coaching poll. Overall, USC showed up in the coaches’ poll 531 timeswhich ranks sixth always. The Women of Troy took a spot in the top 10 of the poll 317 timeswhich ranks eighth all-time, and the Trojans are in first place 47 times for seventh always. Since 1982 – the year the poll began – USC has appeared in the latest poll 34 of 41 times, with 18 places in the top 10; 12 in the top five, and twice as the No. 1-ranked team (2002, ’03).

HOME, SWEET HOME: USC is 209-57 (.786) always at Galen Center. A year ago, the Trojans were 11-2 at home. USC went 12-1 in home games in 2011 and finished the 2012 home schedule 17-1. In 2007, USC was 19-0 at home en route to an appearance in the NCAA national semifinals. The Trojans are 20-4 all-time at Galen Center in NCAA tournament games. The four losses each came to Hawai’i (2008 and 2009) and San Diego (2018) in the second round; and to Washington in the 2013 NCAA Regional Finals.

B1G PRICES: Sr. Mia Tuaniga was chosen as the Big Ten Setter of the Week and OH Jadyn Lives was awarded Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on September 23. These two awards are the first ever earned by Trojan players as members of the Big Ten Conference. For Livings, it is her first weekly award of any kind. Tuaniga takes home her first weekly award since being nominated for Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors in 2021.

OH! SO CORNY: The Trojans are equal 7-7 in 14 games played in the Cornhusker State. USC is 4-0 in Lincoln and 3-7 in Omaha. In 2017 and 2022, the Trojans played at DJ Sokol Arena as part of a rotating tournament with USC, Creighton, Kentucky and Northern Iowa. The Women of Troy traveled to Lincoln in 1985 and 2003.

CORNY CONNECTIONS: Three Women of Troy are from the Cornhusker State. First year LIB/DS Paisley Douglas returned to her hometown of Omaha when the Trojans played in the Creighton Classic (September 5-6). She is the third Trojan with roots in the state. LIB/DS Raegan LeGrand (2016-19) was the first-ever Nebraska native – from Papillion – to wear the cardinal and gold. Setter Elle Glock (2021; Wahoo, Neb.) played one season at USC before transferring to Louisville. OH Ally Batenhorst played three seasons at Nebraska before transferring to the Women of Troy for the 2024 season. Associate head coach Tyler Hildebrand was an assistant coach for the Cornhuskers for three seasons (2017, ’20, ’21).

DOUBLE DOWN: Six Trojans have recorded career double-doubles. Setter Mia Tuaniga possess 32 double-doubles in her career (one triple-double on September 30, 2022, against Colorado). OPP Adonia Faumuina scored a double-double in her first collegiate match as she led the Women of Troy to a victory over crosstown rival UCLA. OH London Wijay had back-to-back double-doubles in road games at Purdue and UCLA during her first two of her career and now has nine-career double-doubles. LIB Gala Trubint had a 20-dig, 10-assist double-double against Arizona State in 2022 for the first of her career. OH Ally Batenhorst possess six-career double-doubles, twice as a Husker in 2022. OH Jadyn Livings recorded her first career double-double on September 21 with 13 kills and 11 digs in a win over UC San Diego.