Volleyball stays undefeated with win

The No. 8 USC women’s volleyball team remains undefeated after beating the Virginia Cavaliers in consecutive sets, 25-15, 25-16, 25-16, on Friday night.

Up and over · Junior outside hitter Alex Jupiter spikes a ball over a Virginia defender during USC’s 3-0 win Friday. USC is now 7-0 this year. - Tim Tran | Daily Trojan

Sophomore outside hitter Katie Fuller led the team with 11 kills in the match, 10 of which came in the first set.

“Going into this match, you feel really comfortable. I’ve got my team,” Fuller said. “We’ve been practicing really hard, and I honestly could not do this without them.”

Both Fuller and junior outside hitter Alex Jupiter hit .500 in the match. Jupiter recorded 10 kills and is now only 40 away from reaching 1,000 career kills.

“I think we did a really good job executing tonight and putting the ball away,” Fuller said.

The Women of Troy have played consistently well on offense this season, but it has been defense that has given the Women of Troy a little more difficulty.

“I think our defense is definitely one of the things we have to focus on every game,” junior setter Kendall Bateman said.

USC coach Mick Haley, who has been stressing defense as one of the areas his team needs to improve in, seemed pleased with Friday’s effort.

“[Virginia] present[s] a lot of problems with block timing, and I thought we did a pretty admirable job,” Haley said.

Freshman middle blocker Alexis Olgard recorded four kills and a season-high three service aces. Not only did she pose a major problem for Virginia, she caught the attention of her coach as well.

“When she brings the serve to go with her game like that … she’s just huge up there in the front when she dominates,” Haley said. “I think she’s really put some heat on to be a starter.”

Haley has repeatedly changed up his lineup so far this season and utilized his deep bench, which consists of six freshmen. It appears, however, he might be closer to finding a more permanent rotation.

“I think I like the lineup pretty good now. I like it better than I did a week ago,” said Haley, who later added, “I like everything we’re doing right now.”

It’s not surprising to hear he is pleased with his team, as the Women of Troy are now 7-0 and have completed 3-0 sweeps against five of their opponents. These accomplishments are not going unnoticed — a large crowd was on hand at the Galen Center for the match, as many Trojan fans came to “White out the Cavs.”

“I think having a big crowd and a lot of energy and everyone cheering, it really helps us kind of keep our composure and compete at the top level — get that adrenaline going and really execute,” Fuller said.

The Women of Troy will next play three games this weekend at the Fresno State Invitational. They will not play at the Galen Center again until Sept. 24, when they open Pac-10 play against crosstown rival UCLA.