Women of Troy travel to face Cal, Stanford
After winning three games in a four-game home stand, the USC women’s volleyball team will head to the Bay Area to take on two Pac-12 rivals. On Oct. 22, the Women of Troy will face off with the California Bears (8-10, 0-8 Pac-12) in Berkeley. Four days later, the Women of Troy will face arguably their toughest opponent this season, the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal (18-0, 8-0 Pac-12).
Voltage spike · Junior outside hitter Samantha Bricio, who leads the team with 339.5 points this season, says USC needs to up its energy. – Brian Ji | Daily Trojan
Despite just an 11-7 record and a 4-4 mark in conference play, the Women of Troy are still ranked No. 19 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, and the Women of Troy have beaten every opponent they’ve faced that currently is not in the Top 25. But besides Kentucky, the Women of Troy have failed to win a single match against an opponent who is currently ranked. In all seven losses for the Women of Troy this season combined, the Women of Troy have been outscored 21 sets to five sets.
A possible good omen, though, is that USC has been better on the road this season than at home. The Women of Troy are below a .500 winning percentage on their home floor with a 3-5 record, but they have been successful in games away from the Galen Center with a 0.800 winning percentage (8-2) in away or neutral games, so the fact that the Bears are unranked and the Women of Troy are playing on the road could be a winning situation for the Women of Troy.
But the much bigger test will be against No. 1 Stanford, a team that is undefeated this season. The Cardinal have been stellar at winning sets, losing only 12 so far this season in 18 matches. A key factor for the Women of Troy for this match — and every remaining match this season — will be their ability to close out sets. In their last three losses combined, the Women of Troy have lost five sets by five points or less.
The Women of Troy have several powerhouse players that will have to be on their game for the USC to sweep its Northern California visit.
Junior outside hitter Samantha Bricio continues to lead the way for the Women of Troy with her explosive offense. She leads the team with 261 kills and an impressive 60 service aces. Sophomore outside hitter Ebony Nwanebu and freshman outside hitter Lauryn Gillis have also produced kill numbers well into the triple digits and have combined for 16 service aces.
Senior setter Hayley Crone and sophomore setter Alice Pizzasegola have set their teammates up well this season, combining for 693 assists.
Defensively, sophomore libero Taylor Whittingham and junior middle blocker Alicia Ogoms have been stellar this season. Whittingham has recorded a team-high 265 digs, and Ogoms has been strong at the net, tallying a team-best 58 blocks.
The Cal Bears will bring their best players in an attempt to upset the Women of Troy. Outside hitter/opposite hitter Christina Higgins leads the Bears with 247 kills, and middle blocker Lillian Schonewise is second on her team in kills and tied for second in service aces with 10.
Outside hitters Ashten Smith-Gooden and Christine Alftin have also produced triple digit kill numbers for the Bears. On defense, libero Maddy Kerr has been impressive, tallying 287 digs for her team. In fact, Kerr’s 287 digs is more than double that of defensive specialist Sarah Cole’s 131 digs, which rank second on the Bears. Schonewise has been a factor defensively as well, leading her team in blocks with 73.
USC head coach Mick Haley thinks Cal is a perplexing opponent that is still trying to find its identity.
“Cal is a work in progress,” Haley said. “I just want to get in there and out of there before they figure it out. They always play well at home.”
Unlike in the game against Cal, the Women of Troy are the underdogs against Stanford. To pull off a major upset against the Cardinal, the Women of Troy will have to focus their efforts on some of the nation’s top players.
The Cardinal boast five players with triple digit kill numbers, with middle blocker Inky Ajanaku’s 225 kills leading the way. Ajanaku also leads her team with 79 blocks.
On defense, five players are in the triple digits in the digs column, led by libero/defensive specialist Kyle Gilbert’s 299.
Outside hitter Jordan Burgess, opposite hitter Morgan Boukather and outside hitter Brittany Howard have been the best overall players on the Cardinal, with each recording a triple digit number of both kills and digs.
Haley remains optimistic that his team will put up a good fight against the nation’s No. 1 team, since USC pulled out a tough 3-2 win in Palo Alto last season after sweeping the Cardinal in the Galen Center earlier that season. Still, USC’s 14th-year head coach knows that knocking off the nation’s top team will be a tough task.
“Stanford is 18-0,” Haley said. “But it is the same team we beat twice last year. They’ve been together now for two and a half to three years. I think their systems are a little bit better. We’ll have a match on our hands for sure.”
Pizzasegola feels her team can beat Stanford, and her formula is simple.
“I think we just need to play volleyball,” Pizzasegola said.. “When we are confident and when we are free to play volleyball, I think we are so good. And we have to be smart. Last year, we won because we served really good.”
Bricio believes her team’s energy will be a key factor on the road trip.
“We are having a little bit of trouble energy-wise,” Bricio said. “We have to keep the energy all the time and we have to be focused all the time. When we are doing those two things, we play really well.”