Trojans suffer conference loss to No. 13 Washington


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Graduate student outside hitter Paige Hammonds stands with the net in from of her looking up.
The Trojans will return home for their next match against Utah at the Galen Center. USC is 2-2 in Pac-12 play so far this season. (Amanda Chou | Daily Trojan)

This past weekend, USC traveled to Alaskan Airlines Arena to play the No. 13 Washington for a Pac-12 conference matchup. The Huskies bested the Trojans 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-19). The Trojans now stand with an overall record of 6-7 and are 2-2 in Pac-12 play.

At the start of the match, the Trojans seemed to control the pace of the game, never trailing behind Washington in the first set. Graduate student outside hitter Brooke Botkin sparked the intensity for USC as she collected seven of her 17 kills in the first set, helping the Trojans take away the first, 22-25.

The Huskies responded quickly, putting pressure on the Trojans from the service line. With errors at the net and Washington’s junior setter Ella May Powell landing three service aces, the Huskies quickly took the lead in the second set. The Trojans stayed in the match with pivotal swings from junior opposite hitter Emilia Weske and graduate student outside hitter Shannon Scully. Unforced errors hurt USC though and gave Washington the second set, 25-20.

Washington rode the momentum and the energy from the home crowd to close out the next two sets 25-13 and 25-19, respectively.

“I think they got better and just increased their level of play both in serving and blocking,” said Head Coach Brad Keller. “We made a ton of errors and kind of got in our own way, we got quiet.”

Since last playing in the Galen Center, USC made a few changes to the lineup. Scully moved from libero to outside hitter, sophomore Sam Hastings to libero and freshman Tyrah Ariail to middle blocker.  

“We were not getting enough production from our pins at the time,” Keller said. “We need more production out of all three pins, and we need better passing. So that was the idea that this lineup would give us the chance to do that.”

Prior to playing the Huskies, the Trojans faced Washington State the same weekend, a matchup  in which the Trojans emerged victorious, 3-1.

“Anytime you split on the road, it’s actually a positive,” Keller said. “I don’t want to be splitting anytime, but if you’re on the road and you’re splitting, it’s tough to play on the road. To be able to do that is a positive, but at the end of the day we need to execute better. We need to execute for longer stretches of time, we can’t feel sorry for ourselves.”

Now the Trojans will travel back home to prepare for their first Pac-12 conference match at the Galen Center.

“If we’re going to be playing home in the Galen Center then we need to put up a much better and consistent product,” Keller said. “We’re going to be working on just that [this week]. It’s going to be on execution and understanding roles and responsibilities throughout the plays and to make the proper touch on those plays. We have a lot to do before Friday.”

The Trojans head back home to play Friday against Utah. The match starts at 7 p.m.