USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 13 Washington on the Road

SEATTLE – The USC women's volleyball team (6-7, 2-2 Pac-12) was defeated in four sets (22-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-19) by No. 13 Washington (9-3, 2-2) at Alaska Airlines Arena on Sunday, Oct. 3.
 
KEY PLAYERS

• Gr. OH Brooke Botkin led the Trojan attack with 21.0 points earned on 17 kills (4e, 41att, .317), three blocks (one solo), and two service aces; with six digs. She increased her career total to 1,443 points and went in front of three-time All-American OH April Ross (1,430 points; 2001-03) into seventh all-time in USC history.
• Jr. OPP Emilia Weske had 11.0 points with 10 kills and two blocks to go with three digs.
• Sr. S Raquel Lázaro had 28 assists with a match-high 13 digs for her sixth double-double of the season (45th career). She also added two of USC's five service aces.
• Gr. MB Candice Denny had eight kills (2e, 15att, .400) and one dig.
• Fr. MB Tyrah Ariail hit .294 and finished with six kills (1e, 17att) and four blocks.
• For Washington, Samantha Drechsel had 13 kills (5e, 23att, .348) with two service aces. Emoni Bush added 12 kills (2e, 26att, .385) and four blocks. Ella May Powell had 42 assists and 10 digs but scored six points from the service line.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USC never trailed in the first set and broke the fifth tie of the frame with a 7-2 run to lead, 20-15. Botkin had seven of her kills and a service ace in the first to help USC grab a 25-22 win.
• Washington raced out to an early lead in the second thanks to three aces from Powell, but USC went ahead by as many as three points (13-10) before the Huskies put the clamps down and forged ahead for a 25-20 victory. USC had 13 kills and hit .310 in the second. UW had 12 kills and hit .348 but the difference came at the service line where Washington had four aces without an error to the Trojans' four service errors and reception miscues.
• The Huskies went in front by nine points, 12-3, early in the third set and never relented as they closed out a 25-13 win. USC had its chances and collected nine kills, but UW was unstoppable on a .625 hitting rate with 16 kills (1e) on 24 swings.
• UW controlled most of the fourth set and allowed the Trojans only as close as one point (10-9) before the Huskies pulled away at the end. Washington closed out a 25-19 win to take the match thanks to 11 more kills on a .357 hitting rate while the Trojans had 14 kills but hit .184 with seven errors on 38 attempts.

UP NEXT

• After playing nine of its first 13 matches on the road, USC will return to Galen Center to host its first Pac-12 matches of the season. The Trojans take on No. 19 Utah (10-3, 3-1 Pac-12) on Friday (Oct. 8) at 7 p.m. PT. The USC-Utah match will be shown live on Pac-12 Networks. On Sunday (Oct. 10), USC and No. 24 Colorado (11-2, 2-2) meet for a 1 p.m. matinee. The Sunday match is Dads and Daughters Day at Galen Center with a special limited ticket promotion available at USCTrojans.com/promos. 

MATCH NOTES

• USC fell to 43-31 all-time against Washington and to 17-19 as the road team in the all-time series.
• Due to COVID-19 protocol scheduling, both USC-UW matches last season (2020-21) were played in Seattle. The Trojans have had to face the Huskies at Hec Ed four straight times (all UW victories).
• The Women of Troy dropped to 41-34 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.