USC women’s volleyball won in three straight sets Saturday over unranked Illinois at Galen Center.
The No. 16 Trojans are now 22-6 and 13-5 in the Big Ten.
The team celebrated Senior Day, as the sun sets on the collegiate careers of defensive specialist Gala Trubint, libero Megan Verbiest, middle blocker Rylie McGinest, outside hitter Danielle Thomas-Nathan, opposite hitter Madison Pietsch and setter Allie Hazelwood.
The graduating seniors were Brad Keller’s first recruiting class as head coach.
“I felt like I got to know them better than any class because of the amount of time that we spent together before they even got here,” Keller said. “We were all at home during COVID, and so the only thing that we did was get on Zooms and make up dumb games and just get to know each other…and it was great.”
Before the game, the seniors walked out onto the court with their families, where they were given cardinal and gold leis.
“Honestly, it doesn’t feel real,” McGinest said of her USC career coming to an end. “I wouldn’t want to end it with any other group.”
The Trojans won the first set 25-10, with three tie scores and zero lead changes.
After a kill from McGinest brought the score to 5-6, Thomas-Nathan went on a seven point serving run that ended when she served the ball into the net, bringing the score to 13-6 Trojans.
Redshirt junior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina led the attack in the first set with four kills on five attempts. Freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen had a perfect performance in the front row with three kills on three attempts.
Mullen had two aces in the first set. She also had four digs.
The freshman opposite hitter is ranked third in the conference for service aces with 44 for the season.
The Illini failed to stop the Trojan attack at the net with zero blocks throughout the match.
USC won the second set 25-18, leading the entire time with the only tie score at 1-1.
Faumuina again had the most kills in the set with five. McGinest had three.
At the beginning of the set, Illinois brought the score to 9-10 on a four-point scoring run that was brought to an end by a service error from sophomore middle blocker Ashlyn Philpot.
Illinois had four service errors in the second set, and USC had three.
The Trojans held the Illini to an attack percentage of .065 by the end of the set, with five and a half blocks.
The Trojans completed the sweep with a 25-21 victory over the Illini in the third set.
McGinest, Mullen and redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay each had three kills in the set.
USC finished the match with four service aces and five service errors.
“I thought it was the best serving performance we’ve had,” Keller said. “We were relentless from the service line, and I thought our mentality matched it on the court.”
The Trojans continue to lead the Big Ten in blocks with 280.5.
There were 3,122 fans in attendance for the match at Galen Center.
USC plays Michigan State Wednesday at Breslin Center in Michigan.
As the regular season comes to a close, are the Trojans ready for the NCAA tournament?
“As of tonight, what I watched, what I saw, what they’re doing? Yes,” Keller said. “Now we have to be consistent with it.”