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USC Women's Volleyball Heads Into Rocky Mountains For Pac-12 Battles

by usctrojans.com
Nov 3, 2021

LOS ANGELES – The USC women's volleyball team (10-11, 6-6 Pac-12) begins a stretch of four straight road matches with a trip into the Rocky Mountains and takes on Colorado (13-8, 4-8) on Friday (Nov. 5) in Boulder, Colo., and 16th-ranked Utah (15-6, 8-4) on Sunday (Nov. 7) in Salt Lake City.

MATCH #22 • Friday, November 5 • 6 p.m. PT (7 p.m. MT)
USC (10-11, 6-6) at Colorado (13-8, 4-8)
CU Events Center • Boulder, Colo.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 21-1 (.955)
LAST MEETING: W 3-1 (Oct. 10, 2021 • Galen Center)
STREAK: Won 7 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 9-1
TV/STREAM: Colorado Live Stream
OPPONENT WEBSITE: CUBuffs.com

MATCH #23 • Sunday, Nov. 7 • 11 a.m. PT (12 p.m. MT)
USC (10-11, 6-6) at No. 16 Utah (15-6, 8-4)
Jon M. Huntsman Center • Salt Lake City, Utah
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 18-9 (.667)
LAST MEETING: L 0-3 (Oct. 8, 2021 • Galen Center)
STREAK: Lost 6 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 3-7
TV/STREAM: Pac-12 Mountain
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UtahUtes.com

FIRST SERVE

  • USC is under the direction of second-year head coach Brad Keller who has also served as an assistant coach for the USC men's volleyball team.
  • Gr. OH Brooke Botkin was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team and ranks ninth in the Pac-12 in kills (3.64 kps) and 10th in points (4.00 pps).
  • Sr. S Raquel Lázaro ranks seventh in the Pac-12 for service aces (0.31 saps).
  • Fr. MB Tyrah Ariail has started the Trojans' last 10 matches and ranks sixth in the Pac-12 for hitting percentage (.373).
  • USC is currently tied for seventh place in the Pac-12 standings with Arizona and ASU. The Women of Troy were picked to finish sixth in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
  • The Trojans will face the Buffaloes for the 10th time in Boulder. USC is 8-1 in previous meetings there and suffered its only loss in the all-time series on the road. The Trojans have won seven straight against Colorado.
  • USC has lost its last six against the Utes, which includes an 0-3 mark in Salt Lake City. Overall, the Trojans are 18-9 all-time against Utah but haven't beaten the Utes since they swept the season series in 2017.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trojans went toe-to-toe with eighth-ranked Washington and dropped a close decision to the Huskies in four sets but saw OH Kalen Owes register her first double-double of the season (19 kills, 10 digs) and setter Mia Tuaniga rack up her fifth straight double-double (14 digs, 54 assists). The Women of Troy out-hit the Huskies and finished with more kills, digs, and blocks, but couldn't overcome UW in the end. The loss carried into a third straight defeat as No. 22-ranked Washington State earned its first-ever sweep of the Trojans in Los Angeles. It was just the fourth win all-time for the Cougars as USC's visitor and pushed the Trojans' losing streak to three matches.
 
BUFFALO WOES: The Trojans are 21-1 all-time against Colorado. USC won the first 14 matches with the Buffaloes but had that streak snapped in a 3-0 loss in Boulder in 2017. Since that defeat, the Trojans have regained control of the series with seven straight victories. On the road, USC is 8-1 all-time against the Buffaloes.
 
FEELING SALTY: While USC leads its all-time series with Utah by an 18-9 margin, the Utes have won six straight over the Trojans and own wins in seven of the last nine meetings. Prior to 2016, USC was 16-2 against the Utes. In two meetings in Salt Lake City last March, USC dropped a 3-0 sweep to the front-running Utes but was without its entire starting lineup. In the second match, the Trojans pushed Utah to the brink before falling in a tough five-set road match.
 
USED TO BE A UTE: Graduate OH Shannon Scully transferred and joined the Trojans for her final season of eligibility from Pepperdine, where she played three seasons (2018-20), but before that, she played her freshman year at Utah. Scully appeared in 32 matches with the Utes and collected 295 digs and had 32 kills and 25 service aces. While with the Waves, she faced Utah once (Sept. 13, 2019) and had 13 kills, nine digs, and five blocks against her old team.
 

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