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USC Women’s Volleyball Falls in Five-Setter to Oregon

by usctrojans.com
Feb 5, 2021

Box Score | Highlights | Boxscore

LOS ANGELES – The USC women's volleyball team (1-2, 1-2 Pac-12) was defeated by Oregon (3-2, 3-2 Pac-12) in five sets (23-25, 25-17, 22-25, 28-26, 15-8) in the Trojans' home opener at Galen Center on Friday, Feb. 5. The loss dropped the Women of Troy to 37-8 all-time in home openers with a 10-4 mark at Galen Center since 2006.
 
KEY PLAYERS

  • Sr. OH Brooke Botkin produced her third straight double-double to start the season and recorded the 21st double-double of her career with 17 kills (7e, 41att, .244) to go with 13 digs.
  • Jr. S Raquel Lázaro put up 50 assists with 11 digs for her first double-double of the season and the 33rd of her career. Lázaro also had four service aces to up her season total to 13 aces in three matches. She also had three blocks.
  • So. OH Kalen Owes contributed a match-high 19 kills (11e, 56att, .143) and added seven digs and four blocks.
  • Fr. L Sam Hastings delivered a season-best 25 digs and added four assists.
  • For Oregon, Brooke Nuneviller had the double-double with 10 kills (7e, 41att, .073) and 10 digs. Taylor Borup put up eight kills (4e. 33att, .121) and had nine digs and four service aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Women of Troy outscored the Ducks, 76-68, and recorded more kills by a 61-48 margin. The Trojans also out-dug their opposition, 71-56, but Oregon used USC's 21 service errors and served aggressively to claim the win.
  • USC hit .273 (14k, 5e, 33att) in the first set and flipped the lead for the fifth time to walk away with a 25-23 win, but Oregon controlled the second set from start to finish to even the match with a 25-17 win.
  • Botkin scored nine of her kills in the third set and the Trojans hit .281 (17k, 8e, 32att) against the Ducks' .074 (7k, 5e, 27att) to claim a 25-22 victory and seize a 2-1 lead in the match.
  • The score was tied 14 times in the fourth set, but USC led Oregon, 21-18, and then had match point at 24-23 before the Ducks fought back to force a fifth set with a 28-26 victory. The Trojans committed seven service errors in the frame.
  • Oregon jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the fifth set, but USC answered with a 5-0 run to take a momentary 6-5 lead. The Ducks outscored the Trojans, 10-2, to end the match. Both sides recorded four kills apiece in the final set, but the Trojans had seven hitting errors and a pair of service errors to seal their fate. 

UP NEXT

  • The Women of Troy and the Ducks reprise tonight's matchup with a Sunday matinee meeting at 2 p.m. PT on the same Galen Center floor. The matchup will be shown live on Pac-12 Networks.

MATCH NOTES

  • USC fell to 55-15 all-time against Oregon, including a 25-9 mark in home matches. The Ducks have won six of the last eight meetings.
  • The last time USC and Oregon met, the match also went to five sets at Galen Center (Nov. 24, 2019). The Trojans and Ducks played a five-set match for only the eighth time as USC fell to 6-2 in those matches.
  • The Trojans dropped to 169-43 all-time at Galen Center.
  • USC moved to 37-8 all-time in home openers, including a 10-4 mark at the Galen Center (since 2006).
  • The Trojans fell to 140-91 in all-time five-set matches with a 56-33 record in home five-setters.

This season, the Pac-12 will play a 22-match Conference-only schedule as its 2020 season, which began on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. All volleyball competitions will be conducted in accordance with the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee health and safety recommendations and guidelines available at Pac-12.com/health.
 
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.
 

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