No. 17 USC women’s volleyball (9-2, 0-1) opened Big Ten play with a 2-3 loss against the defending champions, the No.15 Nittany Lions of Penn State (7-4, 1-0), who held a dominant performance in the opening sets and fifth set closure.
Heading into the match, USC ranked first in the conference in blocks per set in the Big Ten, averaging 3.11. Freshman setter Reese Messer also recently earned her first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, on Monday.
While the Trojans opened with an early two-point lead off of a block by redshirt sophomore Leah Ford and a service error by the Nittany Lions, it was the pressure and offensive strategy from Penn State that pushed the team’s lead in the first set.
Penn State sophomore outside hitter Emmi Sellman led the Lions’ early offense, earning two kills off of USC’s block while senior libero Gillian Grimes continued to add pressure from the service line.
The Trojans struggled to find a groove in the first set. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay and freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen had multiple unusual attacking errors. Penn State took the opening set 25-13, while holding USC to a crushing zero hitting percentage and reduced blocking opportunities.
The Nittany Lions’ momentum carried well into the second set, with the team holding USC to its mistakes despite the Trojans attempting to increase their blocking presence. USC had more service errors throughout the set, and the Lions’ offense, backed by eight kills by junior opposite hitter Kennedy Martin, continued to capitalize and produce points for Penn State.
Trojan head coach Brad Keller made substitutions throughout the match, bringing in redshirt junior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina for Wijay in set one and sophomore middle blocker Mia Tvrdy for senior middle blocker Rylie McGinest in set two. Faumuina helped to relieve the Trojans, leading the overall offense with 11 kills on three hitting errors.
However, the Nittany Lions secured the second set following a kill by Sellman, 25-22.
After dropping the first two sets, the momentum shifted in the third for the Trojans. While the Lions took the first point, the Trojans never let their foot off the gas. USC finally ramped up their blocking presence, earning five blocks throughout the set to stop Martin and Penn State’s offense.
Wijay finally earned her first kill of the match (10-5), propelling the Trojans to go on a 4-0 run. Mullen established her pressure from the service line, with two back-to-back aces on Grimes and Sellman (12-6, 13-6). Freshman libero Taylor Deckert laid out defensively for the Trojans, contributing to USC’s gritty defense and finishing the night with 13 digs.
The Trojans were able to force a fourth set following another ace by Mullen, taking the third set 25-19.
“We just told ourselves that we had nothing to lose, and we’re here to make a statement in the Big Ten,” Faumuina said. “We just wanted to go full throttle on that.”
Throughout set four, USC built on their third set energy and controlled mistakes while keeping Penn State’s errors on the other side of the net. Through a series of long rallies, Mullen eventually took over earning four kills and assisting on blocks. Messer continued to be gritty up at the net, earning two of her four overall kills with one to close the set (25-19).
“I thought we just never gave up,” Keller said. “And then once we started finding our groove, we started to get comfortable, and we started playing better.”
The fifth opened with anticipation, as the Trojans and Lions traded points early. Both teams outlasted defensive rallies, keeping balls up and finding ways to score. After a service error put the Trojans within one (13-14), Martin closed out the Lions’ five-set victory with her 29th kill of the night (13-15).
With the loss, USC looks ahead to the Ohio State Buckeyes for round two of their conference opener road trip.
Despite the defeat, the Trojans are looking to move on quickly and focus on their next opponent.
“We can’t take Ohio State for granted. We’re flying out tonight, so we’re playing them tomorrow. There’s just zero turnaround time,” Keller said after the loss last night.. “We just got a massive five-setter that took two and a half, almost three hours. So we’ve got to turn this around and be very focused and disciplined again for tomorrow.”
The Trojans will face the Buckeyes tonight at the Covelli Center at 4 p.m. PT.