On Aug. 19, No. 20 USC women’s volleyball closed its exhibition slate with a five-set loss to Loyola Marymount University at Galen Center, an outcome that underscores the duality of this year’s squad: a team with both a battle-hardened core sporting national credentials as well as a deep but still-developing freshman class that may take time to find its footing.

Now that the opportunity for preseason tune-ups has passed, the Trojans will have no time to ease into things. USC opens the regular season against No. 12 Arizona State on Saturday, followed by a Sunday showdown against No. 13 Creighton. All games will take place at the Sanford Pentagon as part of the third annual State Farm Women’s Volleyball Showcase.

The State Farm Showcase, now in its third year, has quickly become a premier season-opening event, shining a national spotlight on elite nonconference matchups. This will be USC’s first appearance in the showcase, and the Trojans will look to make headlines.

Building off a breakthrough 2025 run

Last fall, USC finished tied for third with Purdue in the Big Ten with a 15-5 conference record and a 25-7 overall mark, the program’s highest win total since 2017. The Trojans earned a hosting bid for the NCAA Tournament, their fourth consecutive appearance under Head Coach Brad Keller, and swept Princeton in the first round before falling in a hard-fought five-setter to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Keller, now in his seventh season at the helm, enters 2026 with a 110-64 record at USC and a program that has steadily ascended under his tutelage.

Redshirt senior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina and sophomore opposite hitter Abigail Mullen were both featured on the Big Ten preseason team, and for good reason. Mullen, who earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the 2025 Trojan Invitational, is coming off a breakout freshman campaign. 

Additionally, redshirt junior outside hitter London Wijay, a 2025 Big Ten All-Conference First Team honoree and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, led the Trojans with 444.5 points and 400 kills last season. These three veterans will look to hold down the floor while also mentoring several of the newcomers.

Retooling around the floor 

The biggest question mark for USC entering the season is the setter position. Freshman setter Reese Messer, who racked up the 10th-most assists per set in the nation last year, transferred to Kansas, leaving a significant void at the net. The Trojans addressed the gap by landing junior Boise State transfer Lilli Etter, who amassed 1,205 assists during her time with the Broncos. Etter started in both exhibition matches, recording 25 assists against UC Irvine and 28 against LMU while also seemingly appearing to have secured the starting role. 

With the departure of three graduated seniors — liberos Gala Trubint and Megan Verbiest as well as middle blocker Rylie McGinest — sophomore libero Taylor Deckert, who led the team with 13 digs against UC Irvine, is poised to step into a larger role after backing Trubint in 2025.

Season opener against the Sun Devils

Arizona State will arrive in Sioux Falls as the two-time reigning Big 12 champion under head coach JJ Van Niel — formerly an associate head coach at USC — who orchestrated one of the most remarkable turnarounds in women’s volleyball. Van Niel led the Sun Devils to the only two championships in program history while earning Coach of the Year honors in each of his first three seasons, a feat achieved by just three coaches in NCAA volleyball history.

The Sun Devils have reached the NCAA Tournament in all three seasons under Van Niel, including two Sweet 16 appearances. Before 2023, ASU had never won two postseason matches in a single tournament. The 2023-25 run represented a significant turnaround for the program, producing its top three seasons by winning percentage with 30 wins in 2024 and 28 wins in both 2023 and 2025.

Senior opposite hitter Noemie Glover, an AVCA First-Team All-American who led the team with 423 kills on a .363 hitting percentage in 2025, anchors ASU’s offense. Glover, a semifinalist for the AVCA National Player of the Year Award, recorded 26 matches with double-digit kills and had four matches with 20 or more kills. She set a top-10 Arizona State single-match mark with 31 kills against then-No. 22 Colorado, adding 10 digs for a double-double.

For both USC and ASU, the matchup carries historical weight, with the Trojans winning 42 of the 52 matches played between the two since 1989. In their most recent meeting, USC swept ASU 3-0 at Galen Center in November 2023. This Sun Devil squad, however, is not the same program USC faced three years ago, proving to be a tough season-opening matchup.

Trojans face the Bluejays on day 2

Creighton enters 2026 with a streak of 71 consecutive weeks in the AVCA top 25 and 12 straight Big East regular-season titles. The Bluejays went 28-6 in 2025, reaching the Elite Eight and finishing No. 10 in the final poll.

Brian Rosen, the AVCA’s 2024 National Assistant Coach of the Year, took over as Creighton’s head coach in 2025 and made immediate history with 28 wins — the most ever by a first-year Big East volleyball coach.

The Bluejays are one of just nine schools to reach the Sweet 16 in each of the last three seasons. They won 53 consecutive matches against Big East opponents and boast the nation’s third-most wins since 2021 with 147. 

Creighton’s roster includes junior middle blocker Ayden Ames, who was selected for the USA Volleyball U21 National Team and competed at the 2026 NORCECA Women’s U21 Pan American Cup.

USC holds a 7-4 edge in the all-time series, but the Trojans have gone 1-4 against Creighton in their last five games, only winning the most recent matchup in the 2025 Trojan Invitational championship match.

The Bluejays have maintained their status as a national powerhouse through sustained recruiting and player development, and they’ll be eager to avenge last year’s loss to USC.

USC will take on ASU on Saturday at noon and Creighton on Sunday at 10 a.m. at Sanford Pentagon in the 2026 season opener as part of the State Farm Showcase.