Women’s volleyball preps for weekend

George Lydakis | Daily Trojan

The women’s volleyball team opened Pac-12 play with back-to-back wins over UCLA and Oregon State last week, and the No. 20 Women of Troy will look to stay undefeated in-conference this weekend when they host Washington State and No. 6 Washington.

USC upset the Bruins in Westwood to kick off its Pac-12 slate last Wednesday and followed up with a four-set win against Oregon State over the weekend. Senior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie and junior libero Victoria Garrick have spearheaded their team during its hot streak, and they were named the Pac-12 Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, on Monday. Abercrombie racked up 18 kills apiece against the Bruins and Beavers (she is also second on the team with 31 blocks), and Garrick led the squad with 18 digs versus UCLA and 25 against Oregon State.

Now the Women of Troy look forward to a tough weekend challenge, as they face two conference rivals on consecutive days. Washington State is up first on Saturday: The Cougars are unranked, but they boast an impressive 12-2 overall record and are coming off their first conference win of the season against Arizona. They are also undefeated (7-0) on the road so far and will look to keep their perfect mark intact at the Galen Center. However, USC will also be eager to exact revenge on its home court after falling to Washington State 3-2 last season.

After taking on the Cougars, the Women of Troy’s bigger challenge will likely come on Sunday. Washington is likewise unbeaten away from home this season (4-0) and sports a 12-1 overall record. The team’s lone loss, however, came against Creighton — a team that USC swept 3-0 in September. The Huskies left Los Angeles with a 3-0 victory last year, and the Trojans will hope for a better showing in 2017.

USC will once again lean on Abercrombie and Garrick as well as sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier, the team’s main offensive threat. But head coach Mick Haley will also look for key contributions from players such as junior middle blocker Brittany Welsh, who — true to her position — currently leads the team with 34 blocks in her first season in Cardinal and Gold after transferring from LSU.

Lanier has racked up 208 kills this fall and leads the team by a large margin, but outside hitters Abercrombie, junior Alyse Ford and senior Niki Withers have all tallied more than 100 kills. Senior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley and sophomore setter Cindy Marina have also been creative forces for the Women of Troy, combining for nearly 600 assists so far.

USC will hope its well-rounded team play makes the difference this year against both Washington schools. First serve against Washington is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday in the team’s first game of the weekend doubleheader.