In an efficient performance fronted by a trio of double-digit kill performances, No. 14 women’s volleyball cruised past Princeton in three sets Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

After Cal Poly (26-7, 14-4 Big West) upset No. 22 BYU (22-9, 10-8 Big 12) in the other Galen Center matchup Thursday night, the Mustangs will face off against the Trojans (25-6, 15-5 Big Ten) in a second-round contest Friday night to decide who will move onto the Regional Championships — encompassing the rounds of 16 and eight in the 64-team tournament. 

Though USC has made four NCAA Tournaments in a row, it hasn’t advanced to the bracket’s third round since 2017 and, in turn, in sixth-year Head Coach Brad Keller’s tenure. However, this year’s Trojans have already set themselves apart from previous squads after earning a No. 4 seed in the region, allowing them to host the first two rounds at Galen Center for the first time since 2018.

“[The team is] hungry to get past the Round of 32. That’s been on all of our minds,” redshirt junior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina said in a postgame news conference. “We’ve gone to a tournament every year since [the seniors] have been here. That’s just one big milestone that we want to reach.”

On Thursday, it was USC’s three most prominent attackers who led the way: Faumuina, freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen and redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay. The group all finished with double-digit kills — Wijay with 12 and Faumuina and Mullen with 11. The trio combined for eight kills more than the entire Princeton (18-7, 11-3 Ivy League) team, while only having six attacking errors to the Tigers’ 17.

Mullen and Wijay were especially critical during the game’s opening set, by far the most competitive of the game, ending in a 25-19 USC advantage. Mullen racked up five kills, including a slam late in the set to put USC at 24 points, while Wijay had four of her own.

The second and third sets were far less competitive, with the Trojans cruising to 25-12 and 25-13 victories, respectively. USC only made one attacking error in each of the two sets, garnering a 0.636 hitting percentage in the third set.

Princeton, which was extremely inefficient Thursday, hitting a measly 0.105 to USC’s impressive 0.444, was especially wild in the second set, where the team combined for eight attacking errors to just eight kills.

The Trojans also dominated at the service line, accruing eight aces in the short game compared to 0 for the Tigers. Mullen and senior libero Megan Verbiest added three each to lead the way.

Freshman setter Reese Messer continued her impressive campaign, which has already earned her two Big Ten Setter of the Week and two Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards, with 40 assists Thursday, just four less than Princeton’s total points in the game. Messer’s performance was especially important with fellow freshman libero Taylor Deckert out.

While the Trojans got out of round one unscathed, their round two opponent, Cal Poly, who narrowly escaped a five-set thriller against BYU, did not. However, the Mustangs have already upset one team this tournament, and the Trojans will hope to avoid becoming the second when they face off Friday at 7 p.m. at Galen Center.

“Tomorrow is going to be an absolute blockbuster match,” Keller said in a postgame news conference. “Cal Poly is the real deal.”