The Trojans extended their winning streak to nine with a narrow victory over Utah last week, followed by a dominant win against Colorado over the weekend. USC’s next two opponents, No. 23 Arizona State and Arizona, represent a tale of two extremes between success and struggle.

“We’ve had some games where it’s been tight, things haven’t been going our way,” graduate opposite hitter Kalyah Williams said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “But we just had to kind of claw our way out of it because at the end of the day, a win is a win, but the resilience that the team has shown has really made me so proud.”

Williams, despite coming off the bench, had a very efficient afternoon against Colorado (9-6, 1-3 Pac-12). She co-led the team in blocks with two, and only trailed senior outside hitter Skylar Fields for most kills in the game with 10. Williams was pivotal for the Trojans (10-4, 4-0), as four of her kills came in the match-clinching fourth set.

“My main job right now is just providing the energy and lifting everyone up because that’s always kind of been my role, just being that spark plug for everyone,” Williams said.

Fields was also dominant on the offensive side, posting 23 kills in the victory. With a .459 hitting percentage, Fields was efficient and accurate, especially down the stretch where she tallied nine kills in the fourth set.

Senior middle blocker Lindsey Miller also came up big for the Trojans on defense against Colorado, with two blocks as well. This comes as no surprise, however, as she leads the team in blocks with 57 on the season.

“[For] me personally, it’s just kind of going back to basics,” Miller said. “When I have a bad defensive game, it’s just trying to do too much all the time, and I think when you go back to the basics and focus on ‘do this first, do this second,’ then you’re just kind of free to play your game the way you usually do.”

The Trojans will take on the Sun Devils Friday evening. Arizona State (15-1, 3-1) has been nothing but dominant thus far. The Sun Devils have just one loss this season, against No. 3 Stanford (11-2, 4-0), especially thanks to senior opposite hitter Marta Levinska (2x Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week). Levinska leads the Sun Devils in kills with 229 and also has 35 total blocks.

Another Sun Devil to keep an eye on is graduate setter Shannon Shields. Shields has 562 assists, averaging 10.41 per set. Shields had a season-high of 54 assists in ASU’s most recent match against UC Berkeley (12-3, 1-3).

“My [former] associate head coach, JJ Van Niel, is now their head coach, so we’ve got really strong ties to the ASU team. I love JJ, I think he’s doing a fantastic job,” Head Coach Brad Keller said. “So as far as what it was in the past, it is now a completely different program.”

Last season, the Trojans swept the Sun Devils in two matches, with both finishing in four sets. However, with the two teams playing hot as of late, a competitive, close match is expected.

“I think you go into it, just like you do any other match or any other game,” Keller said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re ranked one or like 990th or whatever. You’re going in and preparing for the team that you see.”

After ASU, the Trojans will play Arizona (5-10, 0-4) Sunday afternoon, a team that hasn’t found much success this season. The Wildcats, currently on a four-match skid, are yet to win a conference match this season. Senior outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz leads the team in kills with 196 thus far and has also been productive on defense, with 30 blocks.

USC got the better of the Wildcats last season, also defeating them twice in two matches. With how the Trojans have been playing lately, and Arizona’s recent woes, USC can expect to win by a sizable margin.

Women’s volleyball will take on Arizona State Friday at 6 p.m. at Desert Financial Arena and Arizona Sunday at noon at McKale Center.