A combination of home cooking and positive momentum can make all of the difference in a matchup.
The Trojan faithful welcomed USC women’s volleyball back home at the Galen Center on Sunday, following the team’s five-set triumph over crosstown rival UCLA on Wednesday. In the conference home opener, the Trojans delivered a second consecutive Pac-12 victory, this time over Oregon State in three sets.
The win over the Beavers improved USC’s overall record to 8-4 and preserved the Trojans’ undefeated conference standing. Sunday’s win also brought USC’s winning streak to seven games — completely flipping the narrative of a team that started the year 1-4.
“We are starting to get more people in the stands,” USC head coach Brad Keller said. “Part of that is winning and I think also you see the personalities. We’ve got some really powerful, fun and electric personalities on this team.”
One personality on full display Sunday was that of senior outside hitter Skylar Fields. USC’s prized pin hitter got her team on the board in the first set with an emphatic kill from the left side, en route to five more in the set and a game-high 18 kills on the day. It was clear from the start that USC was going to get Fields her opportunities on the strong side, and the senior delivered with 31 swings and not a single error.
In the first set alone, USC outpaced the Beavers 20-6 on kills with an absurd .679 hitting percentage as a team, emblematic of the Trojans offensive dominance in the match.
“We haven’t even scratched the surface yet,” Fields said. “I think getting that confidence and knowing that we can play clean volleyball throughout the entire match is really going to help us focus longer and just play clean.”
USC closed out the first set with an authoritative 25-11 win, but lost some momentum in the early stages of set two. Oregon State took its biggest lead of the game at 15-10 after a service ace from OSU graduate setter Elizabeth Schuster, which prompted Keller to take a timeout on behalf of USC.
It was after that timeout when USC took off and never looked back, going on a 7-1 scoring run to regain the lead, 17-16. Graduate opposite hitter Kalyah Williams hammered four kills in that stretch and freshman outside hitter London Wijay accounted for two of her own.
On set point, junior setter Mia Tuaniga faked an overhead set and scored a creative behind-the-back tip-shot on the left side of the Beavers’ defense for a 25-19 USC win in set two.
“I didn’t know which hand I wanted to [pass] with and then I was like ‘okay, I’m going to do this,’” Tuaniga said. “With setting, you make decisions in like 0.02 seconds, so I guess it was a good pass.”
Tuaniga also collected a game-high 42 assists on Sunday, her forth match this season with 40 or more in that category.
In the third set, Fields added eight kills to her tally, including four consecutive scores that put the Trojans ahead 15-10. USC maintained separation the entire set, leading up to a match-clinching service ace from graduate libero Ellie Snook to seal the score at 25-16.
Starting off their first conference homestand with a win, the Trojans will anticipate University of Utah (6-6, 1-1) on Friday before closing out with University of Colorado (9-4, 1-1) at the Galen Center on October 1.
With 18 consecutive Pac-12 matchups upcoming, there is no better time for the Trojans to get hot other than right now.
“I think we are just getting better and better,” Keller said. “We’re starting to play cleaner volleyball in general. You’re going to win if your three pins are hitting on all cylinders like [today]. I think we are starting to see the athleticism come through combined with the ability to play the game the right way.”