Trojans sweep Tigers in back-to-back wins
No. 19 women’s volleyball moved to 8-1 after handily defeating LSU in two games.
By ADRIANA BRADY
No. 19 women’s volleyball took two games from the LSU Tigers at Galen Center on Thursday and Friday as Big Ten play looms less than a week away.
While the Trojans (9-1) ran into some trouble from the Tigers (7-4) in the middle of Thursday’s four-set win (25-20, 30-28, 17-25, 25-17), they left with a victory and carried the momentum into a smooth sweep on Friday (25-19, 25-21, 25-16).
Both matchups saw dominant individual performances from USC standouts. Senior middle blocker Rylie McGinest recorded a season-high nine kills and career-high eight blocks in Thursday’s game, while freshman opposite Abigail Mullen earned her third double-double of the season with 11 kills and 15 digs on Friday.
Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.
“I just really liked how tough we were from the service line,” Head Coach Brad Keller said in a postgame news conference. “I like the way that Rylie anchored the middle of the court, especially on the defensive front, and then even scoring right at the very end. I just like the fact that certain people stepped up.”
USC struggles with first match hiccups
After seven score ties in the first set of Thursday’s game, USC went on a 4-0 run late to earn an early lead in the match. LSU continued to give up on balls, letting tips fall and hitting out of bounds. However, the Tigers eventually found success through tipping on USC’s side. Through long rallies, USC picked up on defense, with a tool off LSU’s block by freshman setter Reese Messer adding to the Trojans’ momentum.
The Trojans held a lead throughout most of the second set, but a kill from Tiger junior outside hitter Jurnee Robinson, as well as a block by junior middle blocker Angelina Lee and Robinson tied the set at 24-24, forcing a deuce. After some back and forth, a block by Mullen and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Leah Ford secured the second set for the Trojans, 30-28.
However, LSU clawed back some of the momentum in the third set, as the Tigers increased their blocking and offensive presence at the net, earning 12 kills in set three while holding USC to eight kills on eight errors.
“We were playing two good sets before that. I felt like they caught on fire, and then we got a little stale,” Keller said in a postgame news conference. “I don’t think we were playing just horribly. We just weren’t getting it done.”
After failing to win the third set, the Trojans fought back to win in the fourth.
“We knew we couldn’t do that anymore and needed to get back to playing our own volleyball,” redshirt freshman outside hitter Brooklyn Tealer said in a postgame news conference.
Tealer contributed to the victory, earning three of her nine overall kills in set four and adding four block assists.
While LSU led in kills, assists and digs throughout game one, USC’s efficient service, led by Messer and Mullen, helped lead the Trojans to victory. The freshmen earned three aces apiece, with USC as a whole only making 14 errors compared to the Tigers’ two aces on 11 errors.
Freshman opposite Abigail Mullen earned her third double-double of the season with 11 kills and 15 digs at Friday’s game against LSU. (Sarah Fitzgerald / Daily Trojan)
Trojans bring out the broom for second day
The Trojan offense wasn’t playing around on Friday in their second matchup with the Tigers as four players reached at least nine kills, led by Mullen’s 11. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay had 10 kills while Ford and McGinest both had nine, each hitting over 0.600. Messer dished 40 assists, also recording her third double-double with 10 digs.
“We found a little bit more of a groove,” Keller said in a postgame interview. “I thought we had a little bit more consistency. And I thought we really started to enjoy ourselves on the court a little bit more.”
The Trojans held LSU to a 0.111 hitting percentage in set one. Thanks to Messer’s 14 assists, the Trojans hit over 0.300 with early kills by McGinest, Mullen and Wijay. USC took set one in a dominant performance, 25-19, following Mullen’s fourth kill.
In the second set, with the Trojans’ service pressure, the Tigers made several passing errors while McGinest continued to pile on with kills. Freshman libero Taylor Deckert and senior defensive specialist Gala Trubint picked up five digs each to extend Trojan rallies. While the Tigers caught up at the end of the second, USC closed out with two more kills from Ford and Mullen, winning 25-21.
Through both matches, Messer continued to prove her efficiency in setting up the Trojans’ offense, collecting over 80 assists across both games. In a postgame news conference, Ford said the team’s connection has had an impact on the court.
“We already have strong relationships and great bonds, but we’ve been working on our connections with Reese, our setter, and I think it’s everything’s working out well, and it’s really coming together,” Ford said in a postgame press conference.
The third set commenced with another early kill from Wijay and a block from McGinest to put the Trojans on a 4-0 run. USC held the lead through the set, going on a 6-1 scoring run in the middle. While the Tigers managed to score closer to the end of the third, USC held them to 16 points as they swept LSU with two kills from Tealer, a kill from Ford and a service ace by Messer.
‘We feel prepared going into Big Ten’
Following their four-set win (25-20, 25-27, 25-18, 25-14) against UC Berkeley’s Golden Bears on Sunday, the Trojans will head to Penn State and Ohio State to start their Big Ten season.
“Playing a bunch of different styles of teams is really helpful for us, just to be able to know how to play offense, defense against every type of team,” Mullen said in a postgame news conference. “We feel prepared going into Big Ten now, because we have seen all these different types of teams.”
The Trojans will open Big Ten play on Friday against reigning 2024 National Champions Penn State (6-4) at Rec Hall in University Park, Pennsylvania at 5 p.m. USC will move to Ohio State on Saturday to take on the Buckeyes (3-5) at the Covelli Center in Columbus at 4 p.m.
