Women of Troy fall short in Texas trip

The Women of Troy’s run to the national championship came to an abrupt end on Dec. 15 at the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, at the hands of the University of Illinois.

Killing it · Senior Alex Jupiter had 32 kills in the Final Four match against the University of Illinois. The Women of Troy lost to the Fighting Illini in five sets, after finishing the season with a 29-5 record overall and winning the Pac-12 conference. - Carlo Acenas | Daily Trojan

The team did not go down without a fight, however, losing in a grueling five sets to the Illini (32-4). It was USC’s second straight appearance in the national semifinals and seventh overall in the last 12 years.

As was the case throughout the majority of the year, senior outside hitter Alex Jupiter led the way for the Women of Troy, who finished the season with an impressive 29-5 record. USC won the Pac-12 by a three game margin, finishing 20-2 in conference play.

Despite the conference title, UCLA represented the Pac-12 in the national championship game and took down the Illini to win the title.

The Women of Troy generally breezed by their competition in the matches preceding the Final Four. They defeated the University of Oklahoma in four sets, swept Yale University and the University of Tulsa, and defeated the University of Hawaii and Pepperdine to make it to the Final Four in San Antonio.

Jupiter had 32 kills during the contest against Illinois, highlighting a season that saw her win plenty of hardware and honors by the end of the season.

The Paris native won the 2011 Honda Sports Award for women’s volleyball, an award given to the national player of the year. She is the fourth USC player to win the award. Jupiter was also named the American Volleyball Coaches Association player of the year and was a unanimous All-American for the third year in a row.

Despite the efforts of Jupiter, the Illini, led by Colleen Ward, proved to be too much, winning the second, third and final set, ending the Trojan’s dreams of another title trophy.

Though the team figures to be in contention once again next season, they will lose three All-American players upon this year’s graduation. Jupiter, Lauren William and Kendall Bateman have used up their eligibility, leaving major voids at outside hitter, middle blocker and setter, respectively.

Despite the disappointing loss in the Final Four, this was one of the finer seasons in school history, being ranked in the top 10 in the country for the majority of the season. Their only losses during the year were to Penn State, Central Florida, UCLA, Stanford and Illinois.

At one point during the season, the Women of Troy won 12 games in a row, and won 20 out of 21 during that span. USC has won six national championships in the sport, having won their last one in 2003 by beating the University of Florida.