After losing 3-2 against Colorado and picking up a 3-1 victory over Utah last weekend, the USC women’s volleyball team (14-8, 8-4 Pac-12) returns home to Galen Center for the weekend. The first matchup will be against Arizona on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by Arizona State on Sunday at 2 p.m. Head coach Brad Keller knows that the physicality and discipline of the two schools will make for a competitive weekend.
“I think they are who they are. One team is super physical, one team is super disciplined in their systems and what they do,” Keller said. “That makes a lot of training, a lot of preparation for this week to try to get in tune with both of those teams.”
Following the retirement of Arizona head coach Dave Rubio, the Wildcats promoted Charita “Rita” Stubbs to take his place. Despite having talented players at all positions, Arizona is in last place in the Pac-12, going 6-17 overall and with a 1-11 record in conference play. Even with Arizona’s record, Keller knows that USC needs to be ready for when the Wildcats come to town.
“I think Rita’s the spark plug of the program. I think she’s gonna do great things there at Arizona. I think that she’s just the right person for that job,” Keller said. “I don’t put a whole lot of stake into what she’s gonna be doing or what that is, because we gotta take care of things on our side.”
Friday night will be former USC outside hitter Jordan Wilson’s first time back at Galen Center since transferring to Arizona in June. Wilson played the 2022 season with the Trojans. The sophomore had 20 kills against USC when the teams met in Tucson on October 8, when USC walked away with a 3-2 victory.
“I feel like Jordan’s Jordan, she’s really good, she’ll be ready to play. She’s a baller, and she’s gonna go off for more kills, so you just have to be ready for the whole team,” Keller said.
In addition to Wilson, former USC associate head coach JJ Van Niel will also return to Galen Center on Sunday for the first time since accepting the head coaching position at Arizona State last December. Under Van Niel, the Sun Devils are currently ranked 15th in this week’s AVCA rankings after sweeping then-No. 3 Stanford at home last Sunday to improve to 21-3 on the season. ASU currently holds a 9-3 conference record and defeated USC 3-2 in Tempe on October 6.
“I think that JJ’s done an amazing job at Arizona State, obviously, with a big pin in [senior opposite hitter Marta] Levinska and running a lot of very super fast systems and they’re very good at the serve-pass game,” Keller said.
Despite the familiar faces returning to Los Angeles this weekend, junior setter Mia Tuaniga is more focused on getting two wins with her teammates this weekend and building a strong resume in the final stretch of the season.
“I’ll be honest. If you’re not wearing an SC jersey right now, then I’m not paying attention to you,” Tuaniga said. “Much love to both of them, but when it comes to game time, if you’re not wearing an SC jersey, I’m not looking at you.”
Despite the stiff competition that is coming to town, USC is 8-0 on its home court this season. Playing at Galen Center helped the Trojans in some of their more difficult matches this season, most notably in the five-set reverse sweep upset over then-No. 4 Washington State.
“I just think home court matters a lot because you get an extra day. … It’s local,” Keller said. “Local food, local bed, local pillow. It’s home-cooking as we say, and I think that matters when you’re trying to get on the road or wherever it is, it’s just a little more familiar. It’s not always been the case for us, but this year it has been, so I will double down on that, and hopefully we can get two more here this weekend.”
Tuaniga also acknowledged the value of having USC fans supporting the Trojans at Galen Center this season.
“I think our fans have been holding it down for us, being home, I think it means a lot. Especially, you know, we’ve been traveling for a little bit, so to come back and to play for L.A., to play for our program, here at home, means a lot.”
The Trojans look to remain perfect at home this weekend when the Wildcats and Sun Devils make their final visit to L.A. as members of the Pac-12.