No. 24 USC Women's Volleyball Defeated by Colorado

BOULDER, Colo. – The 24th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (16-7, 8-4 Pac-12) fell to Colorado (15-7, 7-5) in four sets (20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-20) at the CU Events Center on Sunday, Oct. 30.
 
KEY PLAYERS

• So. MB Katelyn Smith led the Trojans with career highs of 16 kills and 46 attacks and added two blocks and two digs.
• So. setter Mia Tuaniga put up 46 assists and did a little of everything to finish with career highs in kills (5), attacks (11), and blocks (6). She also added eight digs on defense.
• Fr. LIB Gala Trubint led the Women of Troy with 21 digs for her 18th match in double digits and her sixth over 20.
• Fr. OH Jordan Wilson had 12 kills (5e, 22att) on .318 hitting and had two blocks and two digs.
• Gr. MB Kalyah Williams reached double-digit kills for the fourth time this season and finished with 11 (2e, 18att) to hit .500.
• Jr. MB Lindsey Miller started her first match since Sept. 16 and finished with nine kills (2e, 19att, .368) and five blocks.
• Sr. OPP Emilia Weske tallied a career-high 15 digs and a career-best five assists to go with nine kills.
• For the Buffaloes, Meegan Hart, Lexi Hadrych, and Maya Tabron each tied for team lead with nine kills. Brynna DeLuzio led CU with 18 digs. Alexia Kuhl led all players with seven blocks and had five kills. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Trojans had a 62-45 edge in kills and a 60-48 advantage in digs but were outdone by a 10-3 margin for aces and 14-9 in blocks. USC hit .233 to Colorado's .248 performance.
• USC used a 4-0 run to take a 19-16 lead in the first set and held on to earn the 25-20 win. Miller had six of her kills in the first set and helped USC hit .432 with 22 kills (6e) on 37 swings. Colorado was also efficient at .304 but had just nine kills (2e, 23att). Smith had five kills while Tuaniga, Weske, and Williams added three each.
• Like the first set, the second was also tied nine times before the Buffaloes came out the 25-22 winner. USC led by two at 20-18 but hitting errors mounted as the Trojans finished with a .087 hitting rate on 46 swings (15k, 11e). The Buffs had just eight kills (3e, 40att) but still hit better at .125. CU also had four blocks and a pair of aces to overcome 26 USC digs.
• Colorado generated an early 5-1 lead and then led by as many as nine points before finishing off a 25-19 win in the third. USC hit .258 with 12 kills and got five from Smith who was error-free on 12 swings (.417). CU scored on four aces and produced 14 kills (5e) on 32 attacks for a .281 attack percentage.
• The Buffs did the same in the fourth to roll out to a quick 10-5 lead. USC closed within two at 13-11 but came no closer as Colorado held on for a 25-20 win to seal the match. Wilson tallied five kills while Williams and Smith had three each. CU put up five blocks and scored three more aces in the final frame.

UP NEXT

• The Trojans return home for their next four matches and get started with the Sun Devils and Wildcats. Arizona State visits Galen Center on Friday (Nov. 4) for a 7 p.m. PT match and Arizona will play on Sunday (Nov. 6) at 2 p.m. The USC-ASU match will be streamed live, and the USC-Arizona match will be shown on Pac-12 Networks.

MATCH NOTES

• USC fell to 22-3 all-time against Colorado and to 8-3 as the road team.
• The Women of Troy and the Buffaloes split the season series, the home team the victor in each meeting.
• The Trojans dropped to 47-16 in matches played in the Rocky Mountain states.
• USC was without Sr. OH Skylar Fields for the first time this season. 

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.