USC women’s volleyball team looks to end four-game skid


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Oregon teams will be swarming USC’s campus this weekend, as the No. 18 USC women’s volleyball team (13-6, 2-5) plays Oregon State on Friday (11-8, 2-5) and No. 12 Oregon (14-3, 4-3) on Saturday at the Galen Center.

Winning these games is crucial for the Women of Troy, as they are coming into the game with a four-game losing streak. Now that they are back at the Galen Center, the Women of Troy look to break that streak and come up with two wins that are crucial to their standing in the Pac-10.

Oregon State is coming into the game Friday in a situation similar to that of USC’s. Losing last weekend in a four-set game against No. 5 Stanford and being swept by then-No. 14 Cal, the Beavers are now 2-5 in Pac-10 play.

They are averaging 13.3 kills per set this season and 2.9 blocks per set, ranking them second among Pac-10 teams for blocks and fourth for digs. The Beavers’ senior outside hitter Rachel Rourke leads the team with 4.59 kills per set and 372.5 points.

USC has led the all-time series against Oregon State by a 38-8 margin, winning 23 of the last 24 matches against the Beavers.

Oregon comes into Saturday’s game after sweeping Cal at home and crushing then-No.5 Stanford after a five set match, which was the Ducks’ first victory against the Cardinal since 1989.

The Ducks are averaging 14.54 kills per set and 2.55 blocks per set, and are leading the Pac-10 in serving aces with 117. They are second in the conference in hitting percentage at .296. The Ducks’ junior outside hitter Heather Meyers is first in the Pac-10 with a 0.63 serving aces per set average.

The Women of Troy also lead the all-time series with Oregon by a 41-8 margin.

USC’s sophomore outside hitter Alex Jupiter is leading the Women of Troy with 4.38 kills per set, and 5.17 points per set, and is 10th in the nation for those points per set and tied for third among Pac-10 players. Sophomore setter Kendall Bateman is fifth in the nation in assists with 12.05 per set.

The Women of Troy play Oregon State on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Galen Center, and will play Oregon on Saturday at 2 p.m.