USC Women’s Volleyball Announces 2021 Schedule
LOS ANGELES – The USC women's volleyball program announced its fall 2021 competition schedule on Wednesday, June 30. The Women of Troy will open the season at home on Friday, Aug. 27, as host to a two-day tournament at Galen Center and play nine non-conference matches before embarking on a full 20-contest Pac-12 schedule on Sept. 22.
The Trojans will welcome CSUN, Denver, and Campbell to Galen Center for the Trojan Invitational Aug. 27-28. As a member of the Big West, CSUN did not play during the 2020-21 school year. Denver was 14-3 overall and won the Summit League's regular-season crown. Campbell went 11-5 in the Big South for second place. USC will also host San Diego at Galen Center on Sept. 17 for a single match. The Toreros finished in third place in the West Coast Conference this spring.
As it has for the last six years, USC will take on Northern Iowa, Creighton, and Kentucky in a four-team tournament hosted this time by the Wildcats in Lexington, Ky., the weekend of Sept. 3-4. Kentucky is the defending NCAA champion while Creighton won the Big East championship during the pandemic-shortened spring season. Away from home, USC will also play Big West power Hawai'i twice at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu on Sept. 10 and 11.
The Trojans, who went 7-8 in the Pac-12 during the truncated spring season, will open league play against crosstown rival UCLA on Sept. 22. USC plays its first four conference matches on the road with trips to the Bay Area to face California (Sept. 26) and to the Pacific Northwest to take on Washington State (Oct. 1) and Washington (Oct. 3).
USC's first home Pac-12 matches pit the Trojans against Utah (Oct. 8) and Colorado (Oct. 10). The Women of Troy then head out to the desert for matches against Arizona State (Oct. 15) and Arizona (Oct. 17) before returning home for four straight as host to Oregon State (Oct. 22) and Oregon (Oct. 24) and the Washington schools to begin the back half of the league calendar.
USC hits the road for four consecutive matches a second time at CU, Utah, Oregon, and OSU, before it returns home for the final four matches of the regular season as host to the Wildcats (Nov. 19), the Sun Devils (Nov. 21), Stanford (Nov. 24), and UCLA (Nov. 26).
Currently, the Trojans are scheduled to be shown on live television broadcasts by the Pac-12 Networks 11 times. The Networks may also choose to broadcast several non-conference match-ups involving league schools. Those decisions and viewing information will be made available at a later date. Any non-televised Pac-12 matches will be streamed by the home school with links available on institutional websites and at Pac-12.com.
For all home athletic events—including at Galen Center—USC will align with the latest California state guidance regarding capacity for indoor and outdoor live events and performances, as well as county, city, and campus directives. Los Angeles County currently only allows full capacity for outdoor sporting events.
Under head coach Brad Keller—in his first season with the program—USC (7-8, 7-8 Pac-12) concluded the 2020-21 season with four straight wins (at UCLA, at Arizona, vs. Colorado twice) and was competitive in each of its five-set losses to the league's top teams. The Trojans had seven matches cancelled for various reasons including COVID-19 protocols in the already-truncated Pac-12 season. Senior outside hitter Brooke Botkin (Houston, Texas/Pearland HS) was chosen to the Pac-12 All-Conference Team and received AVCA All-Pacific South Region honorable mention.
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 Twitter and Instagram.