No. 21 USC Women's Volleyball Rides Out Waves to Take 3-0 Season Opener - USC Athletics (2024)

MALIBU, Calif. –The No. 21-ranked USC women's volleyball team (1-0) racked up a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) of Pepperdine (0-1) in the Trojans' season opener at Firestone Fieldhouse on Friday, Aug. 30.

KEY PLAYERS

• So. OHLondon Wijayled all players in both kills (15) and digs (15) and did it with .406 hitting (15-2-32) to post her seventh-career double-double. She also had one of the Trojans' three service aces.
• Sr. SMia Tuanigadished out 43 assists and set USC to .390 hitting with three digs, two blocks, and a service ace. She moved her career total to 3,352 and climbed into seventh—ahead ofMissy McCaw(1990-93)—all-time at USC for assists.
• Gr. OHAlly Batenhorstfinished with 11 kills (4e, 25att) on .280 hitting with four digs and two blocks.
• So. LIBGala Trubintput up 14 digs for her 49th-career match in double-digit digs.
• Sr. MBTyrah Ariailtallied six kills (1e, 10att) to hit .500 and led all players with five blocks (one solo).
• So. OPPAdonia Faumuinatotaled a career-high 10 kills (3e) on 20 attacks for .350 hitting and added three digs and two blocks in her first match since the end of the 2022 season.
• Fr. MBFavor Anyanwuposted seven kills (0e, 11att) for .636 hitting in her collegiate debut.
• For the Waves Riley Simpson led with 13 kills while Trinity Stanger had 11 digs on defense.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Trojans had the edge in kills (49-36), digs (48-37), and blocks (6.5-2.0). Pepperdine had six aces to USC's three.
• Pepperdine scored the first three points of the match, but USC replied with a 7-2 run and claimed a 10-8 lead on a kill by Anyanwu. From there, the Trojans maintained their lead to close out a 25-19 win on a kill by Faumuina. The Women of Troy posted 5.5 blocks in the opening set and held the Waves to a negative .032 hitting percentage.
• Batenhorst had five of her kills in the second set while Wijay put up eight digs and four kills to help power the Trojans to a 25-20 win for a 2-0 lead in the match. USC weathered four aces by the Waves and posted 25 digs in the set-two win.
• USC led by as many as four points twice in the third set, but Pepperdine caught the Trojans at 19-all and the teams were tied for a fourth time at 20-all. USC embarked on a 5-1 run, which included two kills from Batenhorst, to close out the match with a straight-set sweep.

UP NEXT

• The Trojans return to Firestone Fieldhouse for another meeting with the Waves on Saturday, Aug. 31. First serve is set for 6 p.m. PT and the match will be shown live on ESPN+.

MATCH NOTES

• USC improved to 40-8 all-time against Pepperdine and extended its active win streak in the series to seven matches dating back to the 2006 season.
• The Women of Troy improved to 39-10 in season openers with a 27-8 mark on the road and a 14-5 record as the true road team. Against Pepperdine specifically, USC goes to 3-1 when the teams meet in the Trojans' season opener.
• The Trojans improve to 14-2 in matches played in Malibu, Calif., all against the Waves.

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, and Instagram.