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USC Women's Volleyball Climbs Over High Point to Advance to NCAA Second Round

by usctrojans.com
Dec 2, 2022

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The sixth-seeded USC women's volleyball team (22-10) defeated and eliminated Big South champion High Point (23-10) in a three-set sweep (25-19, 25-19, 25-20) in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Covelli Center on Friday, Dec. 2. The Women of Troy improved to 33-5 all-time in the opening round and advance to meet either third-seeded host Ohio State (19-9) or Tennessee State (19-15) in the second round on Saturday, Dec. 3. 
 
KEY PLAYERS

  • Fr. setter Adonia Faumuina dished out 40 assists and picked up five digs to go with two blocks and guided the Trojans to a .394 hitting percentage in the match.
  • Gr. LIB Kelli Barry had her fifth match in double digits and finished with 10 digs to go with three assists and a service ace.
  • Sr. OH Skylar Fields led the Trojans with 14 kills (5e, 38att, .237) to go with a match-high 13 digs and two service aces for her 11th double-double of the season. It was her 29th match in double-digit kills this season. Fields' 1,341 attacks this season now rank sixth in school history. Her 633 points rank fourth all-time among the Trojans' single-season records.
  • Fr. OH Jordan Wilson tallied 13 kills (1e, 21att) and hit .571 with two digs.
  • Sr. OPP Emilia Weske posted nine kills without an error (14att) for .643 hitting and added two digs and two aces.
  • For High Point, Sydney Palazzolo led with 12 kills and added nine digs. Dylan Maberry had 10 kills. Ally Van Eekeren posted 24 assists with five digs and a service ace.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Trojans collected 46 kills to HPU's 31 and finished with a .394 hitting rate to outpace the Panthers' .141. The Women of Troy also had the edge in digs (41-35), aces (7-5), and assists (44-28).
  • USC grabbed its largest lead of six points at 22-16 in the first set and held on to finish with a six-point win, 25-19. Fields led the way with six kills and Wilson added five to help the Trojans hit .394 in the opening frame.
  • Fields and Weske each scored four kills in the second set while Wilson and Kalyah Williams added three apiece. USC had 15 kills and hit .481 in set two as Faumuina put up 13 assists to cement a 2-0 lead for the Trojans on another 25-19 win.
  • Wilson led the way in set three with five kills. Fields added four more and Weske had three. USC picked up three more aces and broke the eighth and final tie to come away with a 25-20 win to sew up the sweep. 

UP NEXT

  • The Trojans will face either third-seeded host Ohio State (19-9) or Tennessee State (19-15) in the second round on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT) at Covelli Center. USC has never played the Tigers but is 4-1 in five meetings with the Buckeyes.

MATCH NOTES

  • USC and High Point met for the first time.
  • The Trojans improved to 33-5 all-time in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
  • USC goes to 82-34 all-time in the NCAA tournament and 128-41 in all-time postseason matches.
  • The Women of Troy improved to 5-0 all-time in the state of Ohio (3-0 in Columbus).
  • Third-year USC head coach Brad Keller recorded his first-career tournament victory.

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.
 

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