USC Women's Volleyball Claims Four-Set Win Over Cougars

PULLMAN, Wash. – The USC women's volleyball team (6-6, 2-1 Pac-12) defeated Washington State (8-5, 2-1) in four sets (25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18) at Bohler Gymnasium to snap an eight-match Cougar winning streak on Friday, Oct. 1.
 
KEY PLAYERS

• Gr. OH Brooke Botkin led the Trojan attack with 18.5 points collected on a team-high 15 kills (6e, 44att, .205) with four blocks (one solo), and a service ace to go with nine digs. Botkin's point total gives her 1,422 career points and moves her ahead of All-American MB Emily Adams (1,412.5 points; 2001-04) into eighth all-time in USC history.
• Fr. MB Tyrah Ariail hit .545 and finished the day with a career-high 13 kills (1e, 22att) to go with five blocks and two digs.
• Sr. S Raquel Lázaro put up 40 assists to go with 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the season (44th career). She also had two service aces and two kills to finish with four points.
• Jr. OPP Emilia Weske scored 13.5 points on 10 kills (3e, 31att, .226) with five blocks (two solo).
• Gr. MB Candice Denny had eight kills (2e, 16att, .375) with three blocks (two solo).
• So. LIB Sam Hastings put up 19 digs and reached a new career high with three service aces.
• For WSU, Pia Timmer led all players with 17 kills (9e, 50att, .160) and had a double-double with 12 digs. Hannah Pukis had 43 assists, nine digs, and five blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USC grabbed the early lead in the opening frame but needed to fight through seven ties and finished on a 7-3 run to get a 25-21 win behind four kills from Weske and three from Botkin. Lázaro and Hastings each led with five digs in the first.
• In similar fashion to the first, the Trojans broke the ninth tie to push ahead, 14-13, in the second. Ariail claimed four of her kills in the frame and the Trojans had three blocks to pull away for a 25-19 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. USC collected a total of 15 kills and hit just south of .300 (.294) and held WSU to a .200 rate (13-6-35) in the win.
• USC looked to control the third set and led by four at 21-17, but the Cougars mounted a furious comeback to get a 25-22 win on a 7-1 run. Both teams had 12 kills apiece, but WSU capitalized on late USC errors to fuel the victory.
• The teams traded barbs in the fourth, but USC inched ahead on Botkin's kill at 15-14. The Trojans stepped on the gas and pulled out to a seven-point lead at 22-15 and held on to complete the 25-18 win. Ariail had six more kills in the final set while Denny came up with four on just four swings and scored the match-winner. USC hit .371 in the fourth set (15k, 2e, 35att) and had four blocks to help hold the WSU attack to a .132 hitting rate (12k, 7e, 38att).

UP NEXT

• The Women of Troy head west to Seattle for a Sunday-matinee meeting with No. 13 Washington (7-3, 0-2 Pac-12) at Alaska Airlines Arena. First serve is set for 1 p.m. PT and the match will be shown live on Pac-12 Networks.

MATCH NOTES

• USC improved to 52-17 all-time against Washington State and to 21-14 as the road team in the all-time series.
• The Trojans snapped a two-match losing streak to the Cougars but had not played WSU since 2019 due to the match cancellations during the spring 2020-21 season.
• Washington State entered the match winners of eight straight.
• The Women of Troy improved to 41-33 all-time in the state of Washington.

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.