No. 17 USC women’s volleyball (18-5, 9-4) secured a four-set victory over the Northwestern Wildcats (15-10, 5-8) on Thursday after coming off a five-set thriller over No. 22 Minnesota. The Trojans are now on a seven-game win streak as they continue through the final stretch of Big Ten play. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay capped off the night with 22 kills, marking her third match with 20 or more kills in the last six matches.
However, the win did not come easily for the Trojans. USC and Northwestern traded points early, opening with a kill from Trojans redshirt sophomore middle blocker Leah Ford, followed by a kill from Northwestern graduate outside hitter Ayah Elnady. After trading two more points, Wijay notched her first kill of the night followed by an ace to give the Trojans an early lead.
USC maintained its lead throughout the beginning of the first set, following kills from sophomore middle blocker Mia Tvrdy (8-4) and redshirt junior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina (9-5). Freshman libero Taylor Deckert’s defensive presence shined, as she notched seven digs in the first set to extend rallies for USC. While USC gave up points on unforced errors and a net violation, Wijay and Faumuina were able to find the court for back-to-back kills (14-14, 15-14).
Following a media timeout, Northwestern was able to crawl back to take the opening set from the Trojans. Northwestern scored off of Tvrdy, as senior outside hitter Rylen Reid hit a roll shot off of her block while graduate middle blocker Bella Simkus’s block deflected off of Tvrdy and landed on USC’s side.
Tvrdy struggled to find her groove throughout the end of the first, hitting two more balls out to add to the Wildcats’ lead. Reid closed out the first set with her fifth kill of the night, taking it 25-22.
“They forced a lot of uncomfortable things,” head coach Brad Keller said. “I thought their speed frustrated us to the pin and they were kind of hanging around long enough, and their service pressure was really good, and so I thought that was just enough to cause a lot of stress for us.”
Set two opened with another kill from Wijay, but it was instantly countered by a tip over the Trojan block from freshman outside hitter Bella Burlington. An ace by Elnady and two balls hit out by Wijay and freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen put the Wildcats up early. Senior middle blocker Rylie McGinest found a way to respond, as she tipped to the middle of the court for a kill and earned a block shortly after (3-4, 4-4)
While USC was able to keep their momentum throughout the second set, Northwestern closed the gap after the Trojans were called for four contacts and Elnady got another kill on the USC overpass. After calling a timeout, Wijay responded with another kill (22-17), and Ford earned another kill out of the middle to keep the Trojans up (23-18).
However, it was McGinest who helped USC close out as she went for two back-to-back kills (24-21, 25-21) to take set two.
The Trojans started the third set trailing again, as Elnady got two service aces on Wijay (1-3, 1-4). McGinest responded with two more kills to tie the score, while Faumuina was able to tip through the Northwestern block. Through a series of gritty and defensive rallies, Deckert and senior libero Gala Trubint kept balls alive to help USC score points.
The Trojans kept their foot on the gas to finish off set three. McGinest earned herself a service ace while forcing an overpass kill from Ford off of Northwestern. Shortly after, freshman setter Reese Messer called her own name and earned herself another kill as she sent the ball over on two (22-14).
Mullen closed out the set with her ninth kill on another overpass from the Wildcats, putting the Trojans up 2-1.
The Trojans’ momentum carried well into the beginning of set four, opening with another kill from Wijay as Ford and Mullen went up for an early block. Although the score remained tight, Wijay’s offensive masterclass shined as she found the deep right corner of the court for another kill to keep USC ahead.
“She’s just an incredible volleyball player, not just with hitting, but digging, passing,” Mullen said. So we’re just really lucky to have her.”
While Mullen scored her 14th kill of the night to close out the four set win, Northwestern called for a challenge, looking for a net violation on the play. However, the call was confirmed and worked favorably for the Trojans as they took the victory.
As Wijay rounded out the night with 22 kills, USC had three more players with nine or more kills. Mullen followed closely behind with 14, as Faumuina and Ford picked up nine each. Deckert also recorded 23 digs for the Trojans.
The Trojans will continue Big Ten play as they face the Washington Huskies at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.