USC's Mia Tuaniga Named Pac-12 Volleyball Freshman of the Week

SAN FRANCISCO – USC women's volleyball freshman setter Mia Tuaniga (Long Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS) was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week on Monday, Nov. 2.
 
The honor is the first of Tuaniga's career and the 20th time a Trojan has earned the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award. Washington senior OH Samantha Drechsel was chosen for Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week and Stanford sophomore MB McKenna Vicini was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.
 
Tuaniga set the Women of Troy to back-to-back victories over Arizona (3-0) and Arizona State (3-1) and helped USC sweep the regular-season series (4-0) against the Arizona schools for the first time since 2015. She had 28 assists, four blocks, two digs, two service aces, and a kill against the Wildcats and had the Trojans hitting .366 in the win. She came back and put up 60 assists in four sets of action against the Sun Devils. Tuaniga also added two kills, two blocks, and three digs in the win over ASU.
 
On the season, Tuaniga has appeared in 25 matches with 15 starts for the Women of Troy. She ranks 10th in the Pac-12 with 8.15 assists per set and is fourth on the team with 19 service aces. She has logged seven double-doubles and put up a career-best 61 assists in a five-setter at Oregon.
 
Since 2011, when the Pac-12 began honoring separate offensive and defensive players of the week and introduced a freshman award, Trojans have earned 23 offensive awards, 11 defensive awards, and now 20 freshman honors. Tuaniga is the first Trojan to earn the Pac-12's Freshman of the Week honor since current Jr. OH Kalen Owes won it on Sept. 26, 2019.
 
The Trojans (14-14, 9-9 Pac-12) host No. 18 Stanford (16-10, 11-7) and No. 13 UCLA (22-4, 15-3) to conclude the regular season schedule. USC takes on the Cardinal on Wednesday (Nov. 24) at 4 p.m. PT and will be shown live on the Pac-12 Insider platform. The Trojans then host crosstown rival UCLA on Friday (Nov. 26) at 7 p.m. for a match that will be shown on Pac-12 Networks.
 
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 Twitter and Instagram.