# #

USC Women's Volleyball Returns Home to Host Wildcats and Sun Devils

by usctrojans.com
Nov 16, 2021

LOS ANGELES - The USC women's volleyball team (11-14, 7-9 Pac-12) plays its next four contests at home and will host Arizona (15-12, 7-9) and Arizona State (14-13, 7-9) at Galen Center this weekend. The Trojans and the Wildcats will meet at 8 p.m. PT on Friday (Nov. 19) and be shown live on Pac-12 Los Angeles. Then the Women of Troy take on the Sun Devils on Sunday (Nov. 21) at 1 p.m. USC, ASU, and Arizona are all currently tied for seventh place in the Pac-12 standings with four regular-season matches remaining on each team's schedule.

MATCH #26 • Friday, November 19 • 8 p.m. PT
USC (11-14, 7-9) vs. Arizona (15-12, 7-9)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 68-22 (.756)
LAST MEETING: W 3-1 (Oct. 17, 2021 • Tucson, Ariz.)
STREAK: Won 6 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 7-3
LIVE TV: Pac-12 Los Angeles (Anne Marie Anderson)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: ArizonaWildcats.com

MATCH #27 • Sunday, November 21 • 1 p.m PT
USC (11-14, 7-9) vs. Arizona State (14-13, 7-9)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 72-14-1 (.828)
LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (Oct. 15, 2021 • Tempe, Ariz.)
STREAK: Won 2 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 9-1
STREAM: USC Stream (Carlo Jimenez & Paul Duchesne)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: TheSunDevils.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 (3.60 kps) and 10th in points (4.00 pps).
  • Sr. S Raquel Lázaro ranks seventh in the Pac-12 for service aces (0.31 saps).
  • USC is the only Pac-12 team with three players in the top 10 for hitting percentage: Fr. MB Tyrah Ariail sixth (.360), Gr. MB Candice Denny seventh (.355), and Gr. MB Sabrina Smith ninth (.346).
  • The Trojans are 4-6 in home matches this season and are 175-51 (.774) all-time at Galen Center since the arena opened in 2006.
  • When USC traveled to the Copper State in October, it defeated ASU in five sets and Arizona in four. The Trojans look to go 4-0 in the regular season against the Arizona schools for the first time since 2015.
  • The Women of Troy are currently tied for seventh place in the Pac-12 standings with both Arizona and Arizona State. USC was picked to finish sixth in a preseason poll of the Pac-12's head coaches.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trojans split road matches with a narrow five-set loss to 17th-ranked Oregon and a three-set sweep of Oregon State. USC dropped the first two sets to the Ducks but stormed back to force set five before UO withstood the test to deal the Trojans their sixth straight loss. It was also the fifth consecutive five-set Oregon win over USC in the last five meetings. Brooke Botkin and Mia Tuaniga each produced double-doubles—and Tuaniga dished out a career-high 61 assists—but it wasn't enough to overcome the hard-charging Ducks. Against Oregon State, Tuaniga continued her torrid pace for her seventh double-double of the season to help power the Women of Troy to their fourth 3-0 sweep of the season. Botkin led with 14 kills and Candice Denny added 10 kills on a .625 hitting percentage to seal with victory over the Beavers. 
 
BRIGHT FUTURE: The Trojans signed a trio of highly coveted prep athletes to National Letters of Intent on Nov. 10. OPP/S Adonia Faumuina (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly HS), OH Jordan Middleton (Phoenix, Ariz./Hamilton HS), and LIB Gala Trubint (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS) will join the Women of Troy for the 2022 season. Middleton is the nation's No. 2-ranked recruit and Faumuina comes in at No. 7 on PrepVolleyball.com's recruiting rankings. Trubint rates 90th and the trio comprises the publication's No. 1-ranked recruiting class of 2022. All three signees will represent USC as Under Armour All-Americans and both Middleton and Trubint were named to the AVCA's High School All-America first team. USC pulled in the nation's No. 2-ranked recruiting classes in 2013 and 2014 but has earned the top spot for the first time since 2010 when its class included three All-Americans in LIB Natalie Hagglund, OH Falyn Fonoimoana, and MB Alexis Olgard to go with Kirby Burnham, Sam Hirschmann, and Sara Shaw. 
 
SHARP-SHOOTERS: The Trojans are the only Pac-12 team with three players to rank in the league's top 10 for hitting percentage. Fr. MB Tyrah Ariail ranks sixth at .360, Gr. MB Candice Denny is seventh at .355, and Gr. MB Sabrina Smith is ninth with a .346 hitting percentage. In fact, no other team is represented by two individuals. Stanford (No. 12 and 14) and Washington (No. 3 and 15) each have two players within the top 15, but only one of those four players ranks within the top 10.
 

Related News & Videos