After two big wins in the USC/LMU Classic, USC’s women’s volleyball is staying home to co-host the Trojans/Lions Invitational with Loyola Marymount University. After a disappointing 3-0 loss to No.1 Pittsburgh in the Trojans’ home opener, USC beat Utah State and Ohio University to regain momentum on their home court. 

Now, the Trojans (5-2) will look to keep the wins flowing with three more games at Galen Center.

The Trojans will start off by facing LMU on Thursday. The Lions (6-2) have had a promising start to the season, currently sitting third in the West Coast Conference. Like USC, LMU beat Ohio and Utah State in its last two matches. After losing two of three to start the season, the Lions are coming into this match on a five-game win streak.

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Headlining the Lions’ roster is senior libero Sam Hastings, who was just named WCC Defensive Player of the Week. Hastings, a former Trojan, leads the Lions with 110 digs and 3.44 digs per set.

The Trojans will also be forced to contend with the Lions’ offense, led by senior outside hitter Sophia Meyers, who currently leads the team with 3.34 kills per set, and graduate outside hitter Paige Flickinger who is second with 3.16 kills per set. The Trojans anticipate a difficult test from a talented LMU squad.

“They play the game at an extremely fast level, and they’re very good with the international systems that we train,” said Head Coach Brad Keller in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “So we’re going to see a lot of familiarity, and we’re going to see a little bit more speed than we’re used to.”

However, the Trojans are also coming into the battle with momentum of their own. USC has put up commanding performances in their last two matches. The Trojans held Utah State to a -0.034 hitting percentage in a sweep Thursday.

On Friday, despite losing the first set, the Trojans did not falter and won the next three sets, including a second set where they held Ohio State to a 0.029 hitting percentage.

The Trojans will have the experience and talent of graduate outside hitter Ally Batenhorst, who is coming off a 17-kill performance against Ohio, matching her career-high and taking her to a team-leading 3.84 kills per set.

Meanwhile, senior setter Mia Tuaniga continues to be an integral part of the team’s success. Tuaniga has 273 assists and 10.92 assists per set, ranking her twelfth in the NCAA. The Trojans are also continuing to get key contributions from the younger members of their squad.

“If you get opportunities, you have great practices, you’re going to get chances to play,” Keller said. “Our freshmen are really good, and there’s a reason why they’re the number three recruiting class in the country — Favor [Anyanwu] and Jadyn [Livings] were some of the top two players in the country.”

Freshmen middle blocker Anyanwu and outside hitter Livings have both contributed to USC’s winning record despite the challenges of transitioning to the college level.

“Going in and going from club to a college level is so different, and then just having a new group of roles to play with has also been different,” Livings said.

Despite these challenges, Livings was a key part to USC’s success against Ohio. Playing in her first full match, Livings ended the night with 12 kills and seven digs.

The day after facing LMU, the Trojans will look to defeat UNLV (5-2). The Trojans will take on the Rebels for the first time since 1999, when the two schools contested their only ever match, with USC coming out on top. The Trojans will then end their homestand against UCSD (6-2).

“Having three games in a row is definitely a little tough, but it shows a lot of what we need to work on, and it shows us really quickly,” Tuaniga said.

The Trojans will begin their homestand Thursday at 7 p.m. against LMU, before playing UNLV at 7 p.m. Friday and UCSD at 7 p.m. Saturday.