LOS ANGELES – No. 20 USC women's volleyball (5-3) captured the Trojan Invitational championship with a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-15, 25-14) of Villanova (7-2) at Galen Center on Saturday, Sept. 14. It was the second straight sweep for the Women of Troy who were led by senior middle blocker Jasmine Gross, the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
 
KEY PLAYERS

• Sr. MB Jasmine Gross hit .615 as she racked up eight kills (0e, 13att) to go with two blocks and was named to the all-tournament team as the Most Valuable Player.
• So. setter Raquel Lázaro recorded her fifth double-double of the season (17th career) with 38 assists and 10 digs.
• Fr. OH Kalen Owes had 13 kills (4e, 32att, .281) and 11 digs, her third double-double, and was also chosen for all-tournament.
• Fr. OPP Emilia Weske collected nine kills (0e, 21att, .429) and had five digs, two blocks, and a service ace. Weske was the Trojans' third member of the all-tournament team.
• Sr. OH Khalia Lanier posted 11 kills (2d, 25att) and hit .360 to go with six digs and a match-high four service aces.
• Defensively, Sr. libero Jenna Adams had eight digs and contributed to USC's 10 service aces with two. Sr. OPP Emily Baptista played out of the back row and served up three aces and had two digs on the night.
• For the Wildcats, Sanäa Barnes led with nine kills (2e, 21att, .333). Mallory Potts had eight kills (2e, 21att, .286). Regan Lough picked up 11 digs and Anna Morse had 10.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Villanova had the early lead and went ahead by as many as three points at 10-7, but the Women of Troy broke the final tie to go up, 16-15, on one of Weske's six first-set kills. The spark led the Trojans to finish with 17 kills on .292 hitting and was the catalyst for a 25-19 win. USC produced three blocks and had two aces in the opening frame.
• Lanier had five kills and two aces in the second set and powered the Trojans to a 25-15 win for a 2-0 lead in the match. USC collected two more blocks and had a total of four aces in set two. Gross hit .571 with four kills and was in on two blocks.
• Set three was more of the same. USC raced to an 11-5 lead on back-to-back Lanier aces and then ripped open an 11-point advantage at 10-9 on back-to-back aces from Baptista. Owes' 13th kill of the night sealed a 25-14 win and the 3-0 sweep.

UP NEXT

• The Women of Troy head to San Diego for the USD Invitational #2 and will face San Diego on Thursday (Sept. 19, 7 p.m. PT) and Long Beach State on Friday (Sept. 20, 4 p.m. PT). Both matches will be played at Jenny Craig Pavilion.

MATCH NOTES

• USC met Villanova for the first time since 1997 and improved to 2-0 in the two all-time meetings against the Wildcats.
• The Trojans recorded their second 3-0 sweep of the season. It was USC's first back-to-back 3-0 victories since Nov. 2 (at Oregon) and Nov. 4 (at Oregon State) of 2018.
• The Women of Troy improved to 164-37 (.816) all-time at Galen Center.

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, Twitter, and Instagram.