No. 19 USC Returns Home to Host Cal, No. 3 Stanford

LOS ANGELES – The 19th-ranked Trojans (13-4, 5-1 Pac-12) host California (11-6, 2-4) and No. 3-ranked Stanford (13-2, 6-0) at the Galen Center this weekend. The Women of Troy and the Golden Bears square off on Friday (Oct. 13) at 7 p.m. PT on the Pac-12+ streaming platform; the USC-Stanford match is set for Sunday (Oct. 15) at 3 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks' national broadcast.

USC had its five-match winning streak snapped last weekend, but returns home to host Cal and Stanford, where it is 5-0 on the Galen Center floor. The Trojans are owners of four wins over ranked opponents including a sweep of No. 6 Washington the last time it hosted two conference foes at home.

The Trojans are stacked at the pins and rely heavily on OH Khalia Lanier (4.14 kps) and OPP Brittany Abercrombie (3.12 kps) to drive the attack. Alyse Ford (2.47 kps), Niki Withers (2.43 kps), and Daley Krage (1.88 kps) are also scoring threats. Senior captain Jordan Dunn and Brittany Welsh occupy the middle of the net. Setters Reni Meyer-Whalley (6.39 aps) and Cindy Marina (5.42 aps) run USC's 6-2 system in which libero Victoria Garrick puts up 4.02 digs per set.

FIRST SERVE

USC is undefeated in five home matches at Galen Center this season including wins over No. 16 Michigan and No. 6 Washington.
The Trojans own wins over four ranked opponents this season: No. 6 UW, No. 7 Creighton, No. 11 UCLA, and No. 16 Michigan.
The Women of Troy split road matches at Arizona (L, 3-0) and Arizona State (W, 3-1) last week, and had a five-match winning streak snapped.
USC is currently tied for second place in the Pac-12 standings through three weeks of competition. (Stanford, 6-0; Utah, 5-1).

MATCH #18
No. 19 USC (13-4, 5-1) vs. California (11-6, 2-4)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
Friday, Oct. 13 • 7 p.m. PT
Series Record: USC leads, 56-12 (.824)
Last Meeting: W, 3-0 (Nov. 12, 2016 • Berkeley, Calif.)
Current Streak: Won 3 • Last 10 Meetings: 9-1
Stream: Pac-12+ (Paul Duchesne & Rich Lambourne)
Opponent Website: CalBears.com

MATCH #19
No. 19 USC (13-4, 5-1) vs. No. 3 Stanford (13-2, 6-0)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
Sunday, Oct. 15 • 3 p.m. PT
Series Record: USC trails, 26-61-1 (.295)
Last Meeting: L, 3-1 (Nov. 10, 2016 • Stanford, Calif.)
Current Streak: Lost 2 • Last 10 Meetings: 4-6
TV: Pac-12 N/LA/BA (Anne Marie Anderson & Al Scates)
Opponent Website: GoStanford.com

LAST TIME OUT: The Women of Troy had their five-match winning streak snapped in a stunning 3-0 sweep at the hands of Arizona in Tucson. USC regrouped and escaped the desert with a split following a 3-1 win over Arizona State. Reni Meyer-Whalley posted her sixth double-double of the season in the win over the Sun Devils. The Trojans had four players in double-digit kills led by Brittany Abercrombie's 18. Danielle Geiger got the start and poured in a season-high 11 kills. Niki Withers and Daley Krage also started for the Women of Troy and added 15 and seven kills apiece.

1,000 SHIPS: USC's win over Arizona State on Oct. 5, 2016, was the program's 1,000th all-time victory. The Trojans became just the 17th program in NCAA Division I women's volleyball history to reach the 1K milestone. USC is the owner of six national championships (three AIAW and three NCAA) and has won eight conference crowns including two since the inception of the Pac-12 (2011 and 2015). Head coach Mick Haley has led USC to each of its 100-win milestones since the program's 600th victory. The Trojans won their 800th, 900th, and 1,000th all in home matches under Haley's direction.

BUT FIRST, LET ME TAKE A #SELFIE: Get social with the Women of Troy this season. Fans can follow and interact with the USC women's volleyball team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Periscope by searching for @USCWomensVolley.

900 CLUB: USC head coach Mick Haley ranks third in career NCAA Division I victories (945) among active coaches behind only Penn State's Russ Rose and Navy's Larry Bock. Haley is in his 34th season as a Division I coach, but has 41 years of overall coaching experience and is 1,293-333-1 (.795) in all matches including men's and women's at Kellogg Community College.

HOME, SWEET HOME: The Trojans have enjoyed the comforts of home to the tune of a 144-30 (.828) all-time record at the Galen Center. When it comes to the volleyball court, the Women of Troy are less than hospitable to their visitors. The Trojans went 12-1 in home matches in 2011 and completed the 2012 home schedule with a 17-1 mark. In 2007, USC was 19-0 at home on the way to an appearance in the NCAA national semifinal match.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Women of Troy racked up non-conference tournament awards in the season's opening weekend (Aug. 25-26). Sophomore OH Khalia Lanier took home MVP honors and was joined on the USC/LMU All-Tournament Team by junior OH Alyse Ford and senior OPPs Brittany Abercrombie and Niki Withers. Lanier was also chosen to the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament Team for the second weekend of the season (Sept. 1-2). Lanier, senior MB Jordan Dunn, and junior libero Victoria Garrick were each named to the UCSB Thunderdome Classic all-tournament team. Lanier and Abercrombie rounded out the non-conference slate with selections to the Maryland Challenge all-tournament team. Lanier was the only Trojan to be chosen to all four pre-conference tournament teams.

PAC-12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Following the season's first weekend, sophomore OH Khalia Lanier was honored as the Pac-12's Offensive Player of the Week. It was her first-career POW award after having received one Freshman of the Week award in 2016. On Sept. 25, senior OPP Brittany Abercrombie (offensive) and junior L Victoria Garrick (defensive) were each named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first times in their careers. Abercrombie became the first Trojan to earn back-to-back selections as the Pac-12 Player of the Week since Samantha Bricio (2015) when she was chosen again on Oct. 2. The four selections for weekly honors bring USC's all-time total to 72, which ranks third in Pac-12 history.

AVCA POLL POSITION: The Trojans opened 2017 unranked in the AVCA's Preseason Coaches Top 25 Poll; the first time that USC has not stood inside the top 25 since the poll's inception in 1982. The program's previous lowest preseason ranking was No. 21 in 1999. USC entered the 2017 rankings in the first regular-season poll (Aug. 28) and were ranked No. 18. Overall, the Trojans have appeared in the poll 488 times and have held a spot among the poll's top 10 teams 312 times, which ranks seventh all-time. The Trojans have also held the No. 1 ranking 47 times previously, which is sixth all-time.

ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS: Four Benjamins to be exact. Head coach Mick Haley earned his 400th victory at USC on Sept. 16, 2016. As the winningest coach in program history, he is now 423-113 in 17 seasons for a .789 winning percentage. Haley surpassed legendary coach Chuck Erbe who logged a 310-121-3 record in 12 seasons as USC's head coach from 1976-77 and 1979-88. Haley's 300th win with Troy also gave him at least 300 wins at three different schools: Kellogg Community College, Texas, and USC.

Players Mentioned

Brittany Abercrombie

Jordan Dunn

Alyse Ford

Victoria Garrick

Danielle Geiger

Daley Krage

Khalia Lanier

Cindy Marina

Reni Meyer-Whalley

Brittany Welsh

Niki Withers