Women’s volleyball stays hot with victory over OSU

After a four-set win against Oregon State on Sunday, the women’s volleyball team (10-3, 2-0 Pac-12) jumped one spot in the rankings, from No. 21 to No. 20 (25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 27-25).

USC also moved to 53-9 all-time and 9-1 in the last 10 matches against the Beavers.

During the intermission between sets, the Women of Troy saw themselves tied at a set apiece against the Beavers. While in the locker room, head coach Mick Haley emphasized keeping a consistent, high level of energy on the court.

“We can’t give up, we have to stay with the energy,” Haley said during the break. “I really just think we can work harder.”
They did just that. After dropping the second set, they closed up sets three and four to secure the match victory.

The USC offense was led by sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier, as she put up 20 kills while swinging a .239 hitting percentage. Senior opposite Brittany Abercrombie put up 18 kills, tying her career-high set Wednesday at UCLA, and a .326 hitting percentage. Sunday’s performance, combined with her team-high performance at UCLA, earned Abercrombie the title of Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week. It was her first weekly conference honor.

Sophomore opposite hitter Daley Krage matched her career high of 12 kills and put up a career-high 15 points.
Defensively, junior libero Victoria Garrick put up 25 digs. Against UCLA, Garrick put up her first career double-double with 18 digs and 10 assists. Garrick was honored as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week, her first conference weekly honor. She also equaled her career-high of three service aces against the Beavers.

Despite being out-blocked by the Beavers 13 to 4, the Women of Troy still managed to dominate the net offensively, with 73 kills to OSU’s 54.

“[Blocking has] been their forte,” Haley said. “They get their hands over the net quick and hard.”

With OSU’s big block up front, the USC hitters adjusted mid-set to keep their offensive effective. For Krage, her success came from depending on the players around her.

“Communication with the back row to call out shots for me,” Krage said. “Since there’s a big block out there, they call me what’s open and it’s a lot easier to swing that way.”

Despite not starting the match, junior outside hitter Alyse Ford put up eight kills with a .357 hitting percentage against the tough Beavers’ block.

“We rotated our players around,” Haley said. “Having Ford gave them a boost. It’s nice to have a fireman on the team, somebody that can come in and put out the fire.”

Haley leans on the depth on his team. The ability to rotate allows his players to stay fresh and keep the opponents on their toes. Haley worked Ford in the match against UCLA in a similar way. Ford was the spark plug USC needed in the fourth and fifth sets to take the match against the Bruins.

With two wins to open conference play, Haley is going to give his team some rest, but they’ll get right back to work on the court to prepare for Washington State and No. 6 Washington when they come to town this weekend.

USC plays WSU on Saturday at 1 p.m. and the Huskies on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Galen Center.