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USC Women's Volleyball Pens Matadors in 3-0 Sweep

by usctrojans.com
Aug 28, 2021

LOS ANGELES – The USC women's volleyball team (2-1) swept CSUN (1-2) in three sets (25-21, 25-14, 25-20) to conclude the 2021 Trojan Invitational at Galen Center on Saturday, Aug. 28. Brooke Botkin and Sabrina Smith were named to the all-tournament team.
 
KEY PLAYERS

  • Gr. OH Brooke Botkin led the Trojans with 14 kills (1e, 25att) and a .520 hitting percentage, to go with six digs, a block, and a service ace.
  • Jr. OPP Emilia Weske racked up another 10 kills (2e, 24att, .333) with two digs and two blocks.
  • Gr. libero Shannon Scully held the back line with 14 digs and had three assists.
  • Sr. setter Raquel Lázaro put up 21 assists to go with six digs, two service aces, and a block.
  • For the Matadors, Taylor Hunter led with seven kills on 13 swings without an error (.538) and Lexi McLeod tied for team-high honors with 10 digs and added four kills and a service ace.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • USC fell behind by six early in the match (10-4) but turned it up a notch to come away with a 25-21 win in the first set behind four kills from Weske and three from Botkin.
  • The Trojans doubled up CSUN in the second frame at 12-6 and did it again at 22-11 en route to a dominant 25-14 win. Botkin had five more kills and Weske added four as USC hit .417 (12-2-24) in the set. The Matadors were held to a .081 hitting percentage thanks to 20 Trojan digs including six from Sr. OH Brooklyn Schirmer and five from Scully.
  • USC led by six (16-10) in the third set, but CSUN mounted several comeback bursts to get within four at 20-16, and then within three at 22-19. USC stood its ground to complete the sweep with a 25-20 win in the third.

UP NEXT

  • The Women of Troy head to Lexington, Ky., for the Bluegrass Battle hosted by defending NCAA champion Kentucky next weekend. USC takes on Northern Iowa (7:30 a.m. PT) and Creighton (2 p.m.) on Friday, Sept. 3. The Trojans then close the tournament against the Wildcats on Sept. 4 at 4:30 p.m. PT. Matches will be shown on ESPN3 and the SEC+ Network.

MATCH NOTES

  • USC improved to 25-1 all-time against CSUN (Cal State Northridge) and won for the 18th straight time over the Matadors. It was the first USC-CSUN match since a 3-0 Trojan sweep in 2013.
  • The Trojans improved to 173-46 all-time at Galen Center.
  • The Women of Troy recorded back-to-back 3-0 sweeps for the first time since Sept. 14, 2019 (Howard and Villanova).

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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