This weekend, the USC women’s volleyball team opened its season on the road in Malibu with a doubleheader against Pepperdine. The Trojans, who were just 5-11 on the road last season, hit the ground running, beating the Waves two nights in a row. USC extended its dominant record against Pepperdine, increasing its all-time series lead to 41-8, including eight wins in a row.

In their first meeting since 2015, USC beat Pepperdine in three straight sets (24-19, 25-20, 25-21) Friday night.

Led by 2023 WCC Player of the Year Grace Chillingworth and 2023 WCC Coach of the Year, Scott Wong, the Waves started the match with three straight points. Despite getting off to a slow start, the Trojans quickly found their footing, going on a 4-0 run and eventually taking the first set 24-19.

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Pepperdine’s attempt to rally late in the second set, coming within two points of the Trojans, would prove futile as the Waves dropped the second set after three straight kills by USC graduate outside hitter Ally Batenhorst.

Batenhorst, a transfer from Nebraska, had an immediate impact in her first game donning the cardinal and gold, ending the night with 11 kills — the second-most on the team — and accounting for one of the Trojans’ three aces.

The Trojans never trailed in the third set and after the Waves tied the set 21-21, the Trojans ended the Waves’ hopes of prolonging the match with four points in a row to close it out.

In addition to Batenhorst’s contributions, at the center of this dominant victory were returning Trojan stars. Sophomore outside hitter London Wijay continued to impress, logging 15 kills and 15 digs, both team-leading.

Senior setter Mia Tuaniga’s 43 assists also helped drive the Trojans toward their season-opening victory. Tuaniga continues to prolong her historic career with USC — she now has the seventh-most all-time assists in program history.

Freshman middle blocker Favor Anyanwu was also impressive in her debut, ending the night with 7 kills on a .636 hitting percentage.

The reigning WCC champions may have topped the Trojans in aces, but USC cemented an all-around dominant performance. The Trojans ended the first match-up with more points, kills, blocks, assists, digs and a 0.380 hitting percentage to Pepperdine’s 0.174.

Looking to ride the wave of momentum, the Trojans entered their match the following night looking to sweep the weekend. However, after a dominant Friday night, USC dropped the first set 22-25 on Saturday, ending the first set with just a 0.119 hitting percentage.

“It’s really hard to beat a team back to back. Pepperdine knew that and they came out swinging really hard, and they kind of wanted it more than us, and they put that pressure on us immediately,” Batenhorst said.

Despite its less-than-optimal start, USC eventually found its footing, although not with ease.  Eventually, the Trojans managed to come back and reinforce their opening performance by taking the last three sets (25-21, 25-17, 25-17). Holding Pepperdine to zero aces for the match and a 0.159 hitting percentage, USC triumphed for the second night in a row.

“Things were not going well to begin with, and they stayed in there, grinded through, and found the rhythm towards the end of it,” Head Coach Brad Keller said.

Batenhorst was once again a substantial presence in her second game with the Trojans. She led all players with 16 kills and recorded 11 digs. Junior libero Gala Trubint was also key to the Trojans’ success, ending the night with a team-leading 16 digs.

USC’s freshmen were also a key part of their success. Freshman outside hitter Jadyn Livings made her debut on Saturday night and recorded five kills, four of them coming in the final set of the match.

Anyanwu also added to her impressive debut with 11 kills in the second match; starting her Trojan career with 18 kills over her first two games. Keller was extremely impressed with his new star middle blocker’s opening performances.

“Favor does Favor things,” Keller said. “She’s a very, very good volleyball player, very physical, very athletic.”

With an opening weekend success in the rearview mirror, the Trojans will have a chance to keep rolling on the road against No. 12 Creighton on Thursday at 4 p.m. at D.J. Sokol Arena.