After finishing its nonconference slate with a stellar 9-1 record, No. 17 women’s volleyball split its first two Big Ten matches of the season over the weekend, dropping a tight match to No. 15 Penn State before defeating Ohio State in straight sets.

The Trojans (10-2, 1-1 Big Ten) opened up their road trip Friday with a tough five-set loss (13-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 13-15) in Pennsylvania against the reigning 2024 National Champions. USC started off slow, dropping the first two sets, but rallied to force a winner-take-all fifth set. 

Penn State (7-5, 1-1) dominated the first set, winning 25-13 — a season low for the Trojans — while USC hit 0.000 with multiple errors. The Nittany Lions continued to control the tempo in set two, powered by junior right side hitter Kennedy Martin’s 8 kills.

Despite falling in the first two sets, USC refused to accept defeat, rallying to take the next two and force a set five. The Trojans tallied nine team blocks in the third set and hit 0.353 in the fourth with 16 kills, showcasing the team’s combination of attack power and defensive pressure.

The Lions and Trojans battled back and forth in the fifth set, forcing four lead changes before Martin sealed the match for Penn State with her season-high 29th kill. Despite the loss, which dropped USC to 2-4 all-time against the Lions, Head Coach Brad Keller said he wasn’t worried about the outcome.

“I told them that we are a good team,” Keller said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “We have a lot to work on, but we’re a good team, and we’re heading in the right direction.”

Regardless of the tough loss, freshman setter Reese Messer recorded the fifth double-double of her young career, with 37 assists and a team-high 16 digs. Redshirt junior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina led the team in kills with 11, her second time leading USC in kills this season. 

With the match against Penn State lasting just under two and a half hours, the Trojans were forced to reset quickly for their match against Ohio State (3-7, 0-2) the following day. 

“It’s just such a quick turnaround that there’s not a whole bunch of time for lecturing and dissecting,” Keller said.

The team didn’t touch down in Ohio until 2 a.m. local time, according to Keller.

After a disappointing Big Ten opener against Penn State, USC bounced back strong with a win in straight sets against Ohio State (25-23, 25-22, 25-15) for its fifth sweep of the season.

Redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay stole the show for the Trojans, recording a season-high 18 kills on 0.375 hitting along with six digs.

“It was really important for us to come out strong out of the gate, because a fifth-set loss is never easy, especially to a great opponent,” Wijay said.

The match opened with a back-and-forth battle in the first set, with five lead changes before the Trojans eked out a 25-23 win thanks to Wijay’s 9 kills. The second set featured a 7-point service run by freshman opposite Abigail Mullen to give the Trojans an early lead; the Buckeyes managed to tie the set five times, but USC escaped with a 25-22 win. 

USC dominated the final set, building a lead as high as 11 points and closing with a comfortable 25-15 victory. 

“I thought we passed better tonight,” Keller said after the second match. “At the end of the day, it still comes down to serving and passing, and I thought we served better and passed better tonight than we did yesterday.”

Sophomore outside hitter Reese Wuebker and junior outside hitter Hannah Jones led the Buckeyes with 8 kills each on a relatively quiet night offensively for Ohio State. 

Following Saturday’s three-set win, the Trojans improved to 6-2 all-time against the Buckeyes. Keller notched his 95th win at USC, putting him just five away from becoming the fourth coach in program history with 100 wins.

Next up, USC will return to Los Angeles, where they are set to host two more Big Ten opponents at Galen Center. The Trojans will face Indiana (11-1, 2-0) on Friday at 7 p.m. before battling No. 10 Purdue (10-2, 1-1) on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.