No. 19 USC Wins Five-Set Cat Fight with Cougars

Friday, October 3

Pullman, Wash.

6:00 PM

USC

Washington State

No. 19 USC Wins Five-Set Cat Fight with Cougars

October 03, 2014 | Women's Volleyball

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Oct. 3, 2014

Final Stats | Notes | Box Score (PDF)

PULLMAN, Wash. - Behind 31.5 points from junior outside hitter Samantha Bricio, the 19th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (8-6, 1-3 Pac-12) completed a five-set victory (20-25, 25-19, 27-25, 20-25, 15-11) over Washington State (9-6, 0-3) at Bohler Gymnasium on Friday, Oct. 3. The Women of Troy snapped a three-match losing streak to earn their first conference victory of the season and will now return home for their next four contests.

Bricio came two kills shy of tying her career mark as she knocked down a season-high 28 kills (7e, 57att) and logged a .368 hitting rate. She also posted her sixth double-double of the year with 13 digs (28th career). Most impressively, Bricio served up a pair of aces to move into a tie as USC's all-time career record holder for service aces (170) with Nancy Hillman who first set the mark during her career from 1985-88.

The Trojans also found offense from freshman outside hitter Lauryn Gillis who logged 15 kills (4e, 40att) and hit .275. Gillis added a service ace and seven digs to her final tally. Sophomore outside hitter Ebony Nwanebu scored 14.0 points with 13 kills (9e, 37att, .108) and a pair of blocks.

USC finished with a .243 hitting percentage (72k, 30e, 173att) and was guided by the setting of sophomore Alice Pizzasegola who had a career-high 36 assists and senior Hayley Crone (27 assists). Crone was strong on defense as well with 11 digs to log her sixth double-double of the season (19th of her career). Senior middle blocker Hannah Schraer had seven kills (1e, 15att, .400) and sophomore libero Taylor Whittingham led all players with 19 digs.

The Cougars had three players who finished with 14 kills each. Jaicee Harris (14k, .234) added 15 digs and seven blocks. Chelsey Bettinson hit .360 (14k, 5e, 25att) and led all players with nine blocks. Kyra Holt had 14 kills and 14 digs and logged a double-double like Harris. Holt also had all three of WSU's service aces. Libero Kate Sommer had 15 digs while setter Haley MacDonald paced the Cougar offense with 49 assists and 10 digs.

The Trojans looked strong to open the first set as they claimed a 5-1 lead, but the Cougars caught up at nine-all when Holt put together back-to-back kills. USC reclaimed the lead at 12-10 when Nwanebu scored on the sharp angle, but WSU stayed patient and scored three straight points to climb out to a 15-13 lead. The Cougars never relinquished their advantage and built a lead as large as five points on several occasions before finishing a 25-20 win in the first. USC did what it could to slow down the Cougars, but could only get as close as three points at 19-16 when Bricio earned the kill. USC committed too many errors to stay with WSU and finished with a .162 hitting percentage with eight errors to 14 kills (37att). The Cougars had just 11 kills but committed just two errors on 29 swings to log a .310 hitting rate.

Good things began to happen for the Trojans when Schraer went up for a big solo block on Bettinson to spring the Trojans for a 5-4 lead. USC scored the next four to complete a 5-0 run on serves by Pizzasegola. Bricio's pipe-shot kill made the score 9-4. The Trojans held the lead the rest of the way and were only threatened on occasion when the Cougars came within three points. WSU's final run got the Cougars with three one last time at 21-18 when Ver'Leea Hardaway slid out for the kill. USC put a quick stop to the comeback as Bricio tipped a shot to the floor. Despite earning one more kill, Washington State committed three errors to seal its fate in a 25-19 loss to even the match. The Trojans were markedly better in the second set with 14 kills (4e, 37att) for a .270 hitting percentage while the Cougars went the other direction with 13 kills (7e) on 40 swings and a .150 hitting rate.

It took 12 tie scores, seven lead changes, and extra points, but the Trojans prevailed in the third set, 27-25, to claim a 2-1 lead in the match. WSU was the aggressor out of the break and went up 4-1 quickly, but the Trojans pulled even at five and took a brief lead. The Cougars seesawed over to walk out to a 16-13 advantage, but USC stayed close as the teams traded points until the seventh tie score at 19-all. Holt and Hardaway scored on back-to-back rallies to bring WSU a two-point lead, 22-20, but the Trojans scored three straight on a kill by Bricio, an ace by Bricio, and a kill by Gillis to go up, 23-22. USC had the first set point at 24-23 thanks to a kill by Nwanebu, but two more points by Cougars gave WSU its first chance to close out the set. USC wouldn't have it though as Crone's dig allowed Whittingham to set Bricio in the pipe for a kill out of the back row. Another WSU error gave the Trojans set point at 26-25 before Schraer knocked down the final ball for the win. USC earned 19 kills (6e, 40att) for a .325 hitting rate in the third set while Washington State had 16 kills (5e) on 37 swings and a .297 hitting percentage.

The Cougars showed they wanted the fourth set quickly as they came out of the gates churning for a 10-3 lead. The Trojans had their share of troubles in that frame as six of those 10 points came on USC errors. It took patience, but the Women of Troy ate at the Cougar lead and got within four, 15-11, on back-to-back kills by Bricio. WSU stayed its distance, but the Trojans continued to chip away at the lead until Bricio came alive again for three straight points on two kills and a solo block to get her team within a point at 19-18. Freshman middle blocker Jordan Dunn shut down a back-row shot by Holt to give the Trojans a 20-all tie, but it was for naught as the Cougars sealed the set with the final five points for a 25-20 win. WSU posted five blocks in the fourth set and held USC to a .103 hitting percentage (13k, 9e, 39att). The Cougars started strong but finished only marginally ahead of the Trojans with a .167 rate (12k, 6e) on 36 attacks.

In their third five-set match of the season, the Trojans provided little drama as they held fast to finish with a 15-11 victory. Despite a tight start and a three-all tie, USC began to walk away when Bricio rolled her shot to the doughnut hole of the Cougar court for a 6-3 lead. Bricio went hard on the angle again to maintain USC's three-point lead at 8-5 on the switch. Nwanebu came up big for the Trojans with kills for a 9-6 lead and again at 10-7, but Bricio was the heroin with six kills in the final frame. Down the stretch, Bricio scored two more to give USC a 12-8 lead and then a 13-9 advantage on her off-speed shot. A broken play ended well for the Trojans as senior outside hitter Emily Young backhanded a shot to the deep end of the WSU court for match point at 14-9. The Cougars fought off two before Young terminated on a crosscourt shot to give the Trojans the win. USC had 12 kills (3e) on 20 swings in the fifth for a .450 hitting percentage and did its job to hold down the Cougars who earned just six kills (3e, 17att) for a .176 hitting rate.

USC returns home for its next four matches and begins the stretch as host to Colorado (Oct. 10) and Utah (Oct. 11) at the Galen Center. Fans can purchase tickets at GetTrojanTix.com or by calling 213-740-GOSC. For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule, please visit USCTrojans.com and follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

MATCH NOTES

The Women of Troy improved to 45-13 all-time against Washington State and are now 9-1 in their last 10 meetings with the Cougars. The Trojans also improved to 18-11 in road matches against WSU.
The Trojans snapped their second three-match losing streak of the season. The last time USC had lost three straight, it also broke the skid by winning in the state of Washington; a 3-0 win over Maryland on Sept. 19.
USC's 72 kills recorded against the Cougars is the team's season high in 2014.
Junior OH Samantha Bricio moved into a first-place tie with Nancy Hillman (1985-88) for career aces in USC history each with 170.
Bricio's two service aces against the Cougars gives her 42 this season, which ranks 10th at USC in the single-season record books. Bricio also owns the top spot with 85 in 2013 and ties for eighth with 43 in 2012.
Bricio posted a new career high with 31.5 points and earned a season-high 28 kills (7e, 57att, .368) in the win.
Bricio had 28 kills and 13 digs to post her sixth double-double of the season; the 28th of her career.
Senior setter Hayley Crone posted her sixth double-double of the season with 27 assists and 11 digs. It is the 19th of Crone's career.
Sophomore setter Alice Pizzasegola's 36 assists is a new single-match career mark.