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USC Women's Volleyball Fights But Falls Short in Five-Set Loss to No. 8 Washington

by usctrojans.com
Mar 12, 2021

Box Score | Highlights | Boxscore

SEATTLE – The USC women's volleyball team (3-6, 3-6 Pac-12) fell to eighth-ranked Washington (12-3, 12-3) in five sets (25-23, 25-19, 24-26, 21-25, 25-12) at Alaska Airlines Arena on Friday, March 12. The Women of Troy were playing their first match in three weeks following two weekends of canceled contests due to COVID-19 protocols.
 
KEY PLAYERS

  • Sr. OH Brooke Botkin led all players with 19 kills (7e, 51att) and hit .235 with eight digs, two blocks, and two service aces.
  • Jr. OH Brooklyn Schirmer recorded a new career-high 16 kills (6e, 34att) on .294 hitting with seven digs and two blocks.
  • So. OPP Emilia Weske posted 13 kills (5e, 34att, .235) with seven digs and a block
  • Sr. MB Candice Denny scored 11 kills without a hitting error for a .500 hitting percentage (22att) and had three service aces, four digs, and a block.
  • So. MB Aleksandra Gryka tied a career high with seven blocks and added nine kills.
  • Jr. setter Raquel Lázaro put up a season-best 57 assists and finished with nine digs, two blocks, and added two kills.
  • Defensively, So. libero Sophia Theriot led USC with a season-high 18 digs. Freshman defender Sam Hastings had 12 digs.
  • For Washington, Madi Endsley led with 18 kills (3e, 41att, .366) and Samantha Drechsel had 16 kills (7e, 39att, .231). Ella May Powell put up 46 assists with 13 digs for the double-double.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Women of Troy had a 70-57 edge in kills and out-dug the Huskies by a 71-55 count, but Washington emerged with the narrow 15-12 win in the fifth set to claim the match.
  • USC held a 22-18 lead in the opening set, but UW used a 7-1 run to wrestle away a 25-23 win to start the match. The lead changed hands three times in the second set, but Washington pulled away from a 13-all tie to hold the Trojans off and get a 2-0 lead with a 25-19 win.
  • Down by four at 21-17, USC kept on fighting and finished on a 9-3 burst with a 4-0 run to end a 26-24 win in the third frame and force the fourth. The Trojans had 19 kills to Washington's six in set four and came away with a 25-21 win despite the Huskies' late attempts to close the gap.
  • USC led just once in the fifth and came within a point of the Huskies at 13-12 before UW closed out the 15-12 win.

UP NEXT

  • USC remains in Seattle to take on the Huskies a second time on Sunday (March 14) at 1 p.m. PT.

MATCH NOTES

  • USC fell to 43-29 all-time against Washington and to 17-17 in road matches against the Huskies.
  • It was the 19th time USC and Washington played a five-set match. The Trojans dropped to 8-11 in those matches and to 3-6 in the nine times a USC-UW match has gone to five sets in Seattle.
  • USC fell to 40-32 all-time in matches played in the Evergreen State.

This season (2020-21), the Pac-12 plays 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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