No. 20 USC Women's Volleyball outlasts Ohio State in Big Ten opener

LOS ANGELES – The 20th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (9-2, 1-0 Big Ten) secured a five-set victory (19-25, 25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 15-13) and With a victory over Ohio State (7-4, 0-1) in the Trojans' historic first game of the Big Ten Conference at the Galen Center on Friday, September 27, the winning streak grew to six games.

KEY PLAYERS

• Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst Led the Trojans offense with 15 kills to go, eight digs and five blocks (one solo).
• Sr.S Mia Tuaniga provided 39 assists and had 12 shots for her fifth double-double of the season (33rd career). She also had two kills, two blocks and a service ace for four points.
• Glad Jadyn Livings had her fifth straight match with double-digit kills and finished with 13 to go and 10 digs for her second straight double-double. Livings also had three blocks and scored with a service ace.
• Redshirt So. OPP Adonia Faumuina recorded nine kills and matched her career high with six blocks to go and five digs.
• Redshirt Jr. MB Tyrah Ariail scored 13.5 points with eight kills (3e, 15att, .333) and eight blocks (one solo) with an ace.
• Ms. MB Prefer Anyanwu collected seven kills (2e, 18att, .278) and had eight blocks.
• Gr. D.S Grae Gosnell had 10 excavations, while Jr. LIB Gala Trubint After a two-game absence, he had eight digs and provided seven assists in out-of-system and transition games, his most of the season.
• For the Buckeyes, Emily Londot had 15 kills to lead the offense and finished Ohio State's first triple-double since 2016 with 11 digs and 10 blocks (one solo). Olivia Hasbrook led all players with 20 digs. Mia Tuman had 37 assists with eight digs and four blocks. Grace Egan had 12 kills and 14 digs for a double-double.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USC secured its seventh match with double-digit blocks (17.0) and finished with more kills (56-50) than the Buckeyes, but Ohio State had more blocks (19.5), more digs (64-59) and more service aces (8-4).
• The Trojans led 15-14 after the media stalled in the opening set, but Ohio State tried to take set point at 24-18 and secured a 25-19 victory. USC collected six of its blocks in the first set and got three kills each from Faumuina and Livings. The Buckeyes hit .154 and had 14 kills – six by Londot – despite the Trojans' net defense.
• USC tied the game with a 25-21 win in the second set behind five kills from Batenhorst and four more from Livings. Livings also tallied four digs as part of the Trojans' effort to hold the Buckeyes to .000 hitting with five kills on 25 shots. USC added two more blocks and served a pair of aces, one from Tuaniga and one from Ariail.
• Batenhorst added five more kills in the third, spurring the Trojans to a .355 batting average with 15 kills (4e) on 31 swings. Ariail and Livings each had three kills, while Tuaniga added two kills of his own en route to a 25-20 win and a 2-1 lead in the match. The Trojans led by as many as seven blocks and collected five more blocks, but were outscored 16-0 when the Buckeyes went on a 7-0 run. Anyanwu's killing ended the outbreak and set the women of Troy on the path to victory.
• Both teams had four blocks each in the fourth, but Ohio State hit .143 to surpass USC's .069 attack percentage and send the game into the fifth set with a 25-20 win. Batenhorst added four more kills, while Livings added two more with the Trojans' only service ace. Egan recorded six kills to pace the Buckeye attack.
• The Trojans took a 12-6 lead in the fifth period, but had to fend off a tough attack from the Buckeyes to secure a 15-13 win to secure the victory. Faumuina had two kills – including the final point of the game – while Ariail and Madison Pietsch Each added two kills a piece. Megan Verbiest came in and added three digs and had a service ace.

NEXT

• USC plays its first Big Ten road game when it travels to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face No. 2 Nebraska (11-1, 1-0 Big Ten) at the Devaney Center on Sunday (Sept. 29). First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT (4:30 p.m. PT) and the game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.

GAME NOTES

• USC improved to 5-2 all-time against Ohio State (3-0 at home) and 2-0 in five-set games against the Buckeyes.
• The Women of Troy improved to 36-13 all-time in conference openers, with a record of 21-5 as USC opened conference play with a home game.
• The Trojans won their sixth straight home game at the Galen Center and improved to 210-56 all-time in the arena.
• USC reached double-digit blocks for the seventh time this year.
• USC improved to 2-0 in five-set games this season, reaching a record of 154-108 with a home record of 64-40. Particularly against Big Ten opponents, the Trojans improved to 44-39 in five sets.

For more information on the USC women's volleyball team, including a complete schedule and results, visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Women of Troy fans can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, X and Instagram.