No. 22 women’s volleyball is set for a three-game slate, including No. 13 Creighton University, as a part of the annual Trojan Invitational that will run at Galen Center from Friday through Sunday. The Trojans will also face off against unranked UC Santa Barbara and the University of San Diego.

USC opened week one with a 2-0 record, with redshirt sophomore Leah Ford earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors off of her season debut. In their game against Loyola Marymount University (0-2) on Aug. 31, Ford earned her first career double-double with 11 kills and 10 blocks. 

Serving an area to improve for USC

Freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen leads the offense with 27 kills in the first two matches on a .444 hitting percentage. While stepping into the starting setter position, fellow freshman Reese Messer leads in setting up the offense with 77 total assists in the last two matches. Senior libero Gala Trubint, who is currently 13th in school history for career digs, leads the Trojans with 22. 

​​“Dig to hit has been really positive for us. We’ve always been fairly strong in the blocking department, so that premium has been digging the ball,” said Head Coach Brad Keller. “We got a long way to go, but that’s kind of what has been helping us for the first two matches.”

For now, the Trojans remain focused on cleaning up certain elements of their game before their busy weekend ahead, including an emphasis on serving pressure and scrappiness on the court. USC currently has only 11 service aces compared to their 30 service errors on the season. 

“I would say the main focus [is to] really serve aggressively,” Messer said. “We miss a lot of serves but continue to serve aggressively and not play timid.”

The Trojans have been adjusting to several changes in their roster, including a switch in the setter position after USC’s all-time assists leader Mia Tuaniga graduated in the spring with 4,529. She is also fourth in team history for career service aces with 162. 

Santa Barbara, San Diego up first

The Trojans will kick off tournament play on Friday against UC Santa Barbara (2-0). The two teams have met eight times, with the Trojans most recently winning in straight sets against Santa Barbara in 2017. 

Leading the way for the Gauchos is redshirt sophomore outside hitter Eva Travis, who was named to the 2025 All-Big West preseason team and currently leads the team in kills with 39 on the season. In 2024, Travis was named Big West Freshman of the Year. 

Following the Gauchos, the Trojans will take on the University of San Diego Toreros (3-0) on Saturday. The two teams have met 13 times, with their most recent encounter being a 3-1 USC victory in 2023. 

The Toreros are coming off a tournament victory, as they took home the championship in the University of Hawai‘i Wahine Volleyball Classic. The Torreros are led by junior outside hitter Nemo Beach, who has a team-high 59 kills. 

Sophomore setter Kylie Munday currently leads the Toreros with 118 assists and 8 service aces. Beach, Munday and redshirt junior middle blocker BayLea Sparks took home Western Coast Conference player awards for their performances last week. 

‘We’re ready to get back at them’

To round out the weekend, USC will have an anticipated rematch against Creighton (1-2), whom the Trojans have consistently played in the last ten seasons. The Trojans are 6-4 in their last 10 matchups but have lost four in a row.

Recent matchups between the two ranked programs have mostly gone four or five sets. While USC put up strong numbers and had more blocks than Creighton in their 2024 matchup, they were ultimately outhit, .250 to .183, leading to the Bluejays’ victory. 

The No. 13 Bluejays are led by senior outside hitter Ava Martin, who currently averages a .202 hitting percentage. Junior middle blocker Eloise Brandewie leads the team in blocks with 18 and was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week on Sept 2. Despite a losing record,  Creighton’s two losses came against top five teams, falling to now No. 2 Texas and No. 5 Penn State. 

“We’re really excited to play Creighton,” Ford said. “We played them last preseason. It didn’t go the way we wanted, so I think we’re ready to get back at them and see what we could do.”

USC will begin the tournament Friday against the Gauchos at 7 p.m. at Galen Center before taking on San Diego at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Trojans will close out invitational play against Creighton at 1 p.m. Sunday.