On a chartered flight to Minneapolis, Minnesota on the night of Halloween, there sat USC women’s volleyball Head Coach Brad Keller, dressed up as Vector from “Despicable Me” (2010) and surrounded by Minions — also known as his team. He told the Daily Trojan he had never seen the film, but he couldn’t help but crack a smile.

Everyone on the flight, from Keller to the flight attendants, received bags with their names on them as the team handed out candy in a reverse trick-or-treat.

“I didn’t make them do that; they did that on their own, and it was freaking awesome,” Keller said. “That’s where we are [as a team].”

A day later, the now-No. 17 Trojans (17-5, 8-4 Big Ten) pulled off a five-set thriller of an upset over now-No. 22 Minnesota (17-6, 7-5) to catapult them five spots up the rankings and extend their winning streak to six games after a 2-4 start in conference play. 

Keller said the team chemistry, exemplified by things like the Halloween celebration, has been a key part in USC’s recent success as the team now prepares for a set of Big Ten opponents: Northwestern (15-9, 5-7) at home Thursday and Washington (10-12, 5-7) on the road Sunday.

“It’s a very growth mindset and [it’s] very positive right now in our gym, and so I want to invest in that,” Keller said. “It doesn’t guarantee wins, I know that, but at least it guarantees that you’re going to get your best efforts.”

Messer, Northwestern dynamic duo set for setter duel

When asked what he saw from USC’s two upcoming opponents, Keller briefly described the teams’ strengths and then said they had about one similarity: “The color purple.”

For the Wildcats, Keller pointed to the setting duo of senior Lauren Carter and redshirt junior Sienna Noordermeer, who have racked up 521 and 397 assists, respectively, including six games where they have both had at least 20. While USC’s star freshman setter Reese Messer has racked up more than either with 866, the third most in the Big Ten, no other Trojan has more than 65.

After Messer aided USC to a 0.349 hitting percentage in last week’s two wins — including a sweep of crosstown rival UCLA (13-9, 7-5) on Wednesday — and added a career-high 54 assists in the win over Minnesota, she won co-Big Ten Setter of the Week honors. Messer, who has also won two Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards this season, followed in the footsteps of Trojan legend Mia Tuaniga, who won the setter award twice last season.

“She’s just a very athletic and very engaging and very positive individual, and when you put those things together, you create this supreme condition where she can just do a lot of things,” Keller said of Messer. “Really excited about her future.”

Stopping aces is critical for USC

In last year’s four-set win over Northwestern, which improved the Trojans to 2-0 all-time in the matchup, a standout 20-kill performance on 0.471 hitting from now-redshirt junior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina was key to USC’s win.

Though Faumuina stood out in the preseason as one of USC’s only returners who played a major role in 2024, her hitting percentage was inconsistent to start the season, leading to her sitting out sets in multiple contests early on. However, in both of last week’s wins, Faumuina racked up at least 14 kills and hit north of 0.300, bringing her season average up to 0.200 — roughly what she hit last season.

When asked about her recent improvement in performance, Keller jokingly quipped, “We bribed her.” 

The coach was referencing a semi-joking deal senior libero Megan Verbiest made with Faumuina: Hit over 0.300 and get a bag of Takis. While Faumuina seriously earned her Takis last week, Keller pointed to the “bribery” as another way the team’s fun and chemistry have aided them this season.

Though, in serious terms, Keller said Faumuina is “lightyears above” where she was in 2024, noting her improved control and leadership abilities as key factors.

“She’s making great plays up at the net for us at really crucial times,” Keller said. “The old Adonia would try to end it. She would try to be this ‘I’ve got to make this play right now.’ And the new Adonia is ‘I’m under control and, whether we get the kill or not, we’re going to get a free ball back. We’re going to be in system.’”

Another key to beating the Wildcats will be defending the serve, which USC struggled with against Minnesota. The Gophers had 15 service aces — six of which came in a 25-19 first-set win — compared to just seven for the Trojans.

While Minnesota is up there in the Big Ten for number of service aces with 147, Northwestern is No. 2 with 160. Four Wildcats have at least 27 aces, while only freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen has more than 14 for USC with 34. 

“I’ve never seen that before,” said Keller, who has been coaching volleyball for about 30 years, of Minnesota’s six aces in one set. “Sometimes it’s a bad situation and you flush your shit. … You don’t change what you’re doing, not at this point.”

Northwestern also has three attackers with at least 226 kills — senior outside hitter Rylen Reid, graduate outside hitter Ayah Elnady and freshman outside hitter Bella Bullington — while USC only has two north of Faumuina’s 153: Mullen and redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay.

Wijay hopes to outduel Husky star

Keller described Washington as similar to Minnesota in that the Huskies are well-rounded and competitive at both blocking and passing. They are led by junior outside hitter Kierstyn Barton, who ranks ninth in the Big Ten with 290 kills — six places and 25 kills above USC’s leader in Wijay. Washington senior outside hitter Alexa Markley and freshman outside hitter Simona Mateska also both have more than 200 kills.

However, it’s hard to fathom anyone with a hotter hand than Wijay, who is coming off a career-high 25-kill night against Minnesota, which earned her a second Big Ten Player of the Week award in the last three weeks. Wijay, who is hitting 0.259 to go along with 170 digs and a team-second-best 14 aces, is the only Trojan to win the award this season.

“She understands how to play the game,” Keller said of Wijay. “When you’re patient when you’re attacking, and you take zeros — as we call it — or you don’t make errors, it opens up more possibilities for you. I think she’s been really, really good at that.”

While the ranked Trojans, who also lead the Big Ten in blocks with a combined 225.5, are favorites in both games, Keller described both unranked opponents as “bubble teams” — not out of NCAA Tournament contention but also not top dogs like the looming threat of undefeated No. 1 Nebraska (22-0, 12-0). He said teams on the bubble are tough opponents because their playoff hopes are on the line in a majority of contests.

“All these [bubble] teams are going to give their haymakers or their big shots towards us, and they’re very, very dangerous,” Keller said.

USC will face Northwestern at Galen Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Seattle, Washington, to face the Huskies at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena.