While USC women’s volleyball ultimately came out on top in its last game before Big Ten play, Saturday’s 3-1 set win against UCSD was not enough to satisfy the Trojans.

As the final match of the Trojans/Lions Invitational, No. 21 USC (8-2) headed into the game 2-0 at the tournament, while UCSD (6-5) stood 0-2 after both teams played Loyola Marymount University and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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After the first set, the crowd at Galen Center was stunned, as the Tritons upset huge favorites USC 32-30. After early action led to a 20-20 deadlock, the two teams remained in a close battle for the rest of the set, never being able to fully overcome the other until an ace from UCSD junior middle blocker Jasmine Saran sealed the set for the Tritons.

USC found its footing in the following sets, winning the second and third sets  25-20 and 25-19, respectively, and before concluding the first-ever match between the teams with a dominant 25-11 fourth set.

“I was extremely disappointed in my team and my staff and myself tonight. And the reason why I say that is it’s between the lines; it’s not always the score,” said Head Coach Brad Keller in a post-game press conference. “When you can put a 25-11 at the end of a match, you are clearly not tapping into everything that you have all the way from start to finish. And I do not care what anyone tells me; that is just the standard that we have to hold ourselves accountable to.”

Statistically, the Trojans eventually dominated the Tritons with a hitting percentage of .245 compared to UCSD’s ultimate .076 mark across the four sets. USC also topped the Tritons in kills, assists, service aces, digs and blocks. In the third and fourth set, USC recouped going on multiple scoring runs led by assist leader senior setter Mia Tuaniga.

“I feel like we just had to communicate better,” said junior middle blocker Rylie McGinest on the Trojans’ slow start. “We honestly just had to get real with each other … There was no time to chill, we just had to finish it.”

Individually, McGinest and Tuaniga, along with redshirt freshman middle blocker Leah Ford and graduate outside hitter Ally Batenhorst — who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the invitational – displayed particularly commanding performances.

Batenhorst matched a career high of 17 kills — a game-high — while amassing a career-high three service aces and also obtaining a .262 hitting percentage.

“That’s a very good number,” Keller said. “That’s a First Team All- American caliber performance.”

A transfer from Nebraska, Batenhorst came to USC with an average of 2.25 kills per set in her junior year on a stacked Husker roster. She now averages 3.84 and has reached double digits-kills in each game this season.

While the team spent Sunday resting, Keller was formulating a plan to get the team in shape for Big Ten play with an emphasis on discipline.

“We really have to figure out how we can hold ourselves to a high standard consistently,” Tuaniga said. “There are times where we step on the gas pedal and then we slowly lift our foot off. And we need to understand that it needs to be 110% every single touch, every single minute, and every single time we put on this jersey, or every single time we even step in the gym.”

While Keller and the Trojans are busy preparing for Big Ten play, they are also looking forward to the crowds and attention their new conference will bring to the team.

“I clearly think the Big Ten is the best conference in the country, hands down,” Keller said. “There’s people that run toward burning buildings; there’s people that run away from burning buildings, and we should be people that run towards burning buildings. Safely, that is.”

Keller’s squad already has its own devoted fan base, especially among the volleyball players of the future. During Saturday’s match, Galen hosted multiple youth teams from the area, with many being past attendees of the team’s camps. After each point the Trojans scored, the young players were the loudest voices in the arena.

“It’s really nice to see [the] local community just come out and support us,” Tuaniga said. “A lot of us, we’re playing for the next generation.”

Moving on from the Trojans’ 3-0 sweep in this weekend’s invitational, USC is officially headed into Big Ten play with a brutal schedule. The Trojans’ first Big Ten battle will be against Ohio State Friday at 7 p.m. at Galen Center before hopping on a flight to Nebraska the next day to play the No. 5 Huskers Sunday at 6:30 p.m.