In front of an electric crowd inside Galen Center, No. 4 seed USC swept Princeton (25-19, 25-12, 25-13) on Thursday night. The Trojans earned the right to host the first and second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018.
“I think we really put in the work this season and I think that we genuinely did earn the right to host,” senior libero Gala Trubint said. “We want to defend home court as best as possible since we got the privilege to do so.”
USC (25-6) had plenty of success on the attack, hitting .444 as a team. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay led the way with 12 kills. The Trojans held Princeton (18-7) to a .105 hitting percentage thanks to senior middle blocker Rylie McGinest’s five blocks.
“I just like the way that Princeton played and battled and all that,” USC head coach Brad Keller said. “It’s always difficult to end the year, but I thought they did such a great job because we watched a lot of video on them. It was a really good team.”
USC captured the first set 25-19. Led by freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen with five kills, the Trojans hit .343 as a team. Mullen alongside redshirt junior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina finished the night with 11 kills each.
It was a back-and-forth battle to begin the set, but the Trojans pulled ahead with a 3-0 run. Princeton was limited to hitting .133 as redshirt sophomore middle blocker Leah Ford and Mullen combined for two blocks. Five USC service errors in the opening frame allowed Princeton to keep the set within shouting distance.
A 4-0 scoring run, including two consecutive service aces from senior defensive specialist Megan Verbiest, gave USC a 15-10 lead. Verbiest and Mullen each capped off the game with three aces. The Trojans were able to control the rest of the set. McGinest and freshman setter Reese Messer combined for a block to give USC the first set win.
“I think the first set, we were just getting all of our jitters out and there were some overpasses or like some errors that we usually don’t make,” Faumuina said. “I think the second and third set, we just took control of that and just kind of did a steady game.”
USC controlled the entire second set and led by as much as 13 in a 25-12 win. The Trojans hit .480 with four service aces, while Princeton struggled to find rhythm offensively and hit .000.
A 7-1 scoring run gave the Trojans a 18-9 lead, prompting a timeout from Princeton. A 6-3 run sealed the set win for USC. Senior middle blocker Lucia Scalamandre came into the match hitting .431 for the Tigers but was limited to five kills and a .062 hitting percentage.
“Just the point differential, what we’re doing with kills and things like that, we were pretty good in those categories tonight,” Keller said. “So I was very happy with them with this team and I just can’t wait to see them again tomorrow.”
The third set was tight early with four ties and three lead changes in the first five points, but USC was able to find separation and cruise to a 25-13 win as McGinest raised the roof with a block for the winning point.
With the victory, USC improves to 25-6 and faces Cal Poly (26-7) in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Friday. The Mustangs upset No. 5 seed BYU in a five-set thriller in the opening round.
“Cal Poly is the real deal,” Keller said. “I mean, that is a no-joke team and they’re so confident right now. We have our hands full and they have their hands full with us.”
First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Galen Center.