Friday, December 1
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
USC
23-9
3
vs
1
Central Arkansas
27-5
1
2
3
4
F
Central Arkansas
25
23
18
12
1
USC
22
25
25
25
3
Team Stats
UCA
USC
Kills
50
62
Errors
20
20
Attempts
133
137
Hitting %
.226
.307
Points
58.0
79.0
Assists
47
60
Aces
1
12
Blocks
7.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills
24
Aces
4
Blocks
0
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballPhoto by: Hali Helfgott
USC Volleyball Advances on Sweet Win Over Sugar Bears
December 01, 2017 | Women's Volleyball, Features
The Women of Troy improved to 30-5 in all-time NCAA first-round matches
LOS ANGELES – The 10th-seeded USC women's volleyball team (23-9) defeated Central Arkansas (27-5) in four sets (22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-12) in the first round of the 2017 NCAA DI Volleyball Championship at Galen Center on Friday, Dec. 1. The Women of Troy improved to 30-5 in all-time NCAA first-round matches and now advance to face ninth-ranked San Diego (25-4) in the second round on Saturday (Dec. 2) at Galen Center. First serve is set for 5 p.m. PT.
Senior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie collected her 1,000th career kill and finished with 14 kills on the night (5e, 33att, .273). She became just the 16th player in program history to break the 1,000-kill plateau. Sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier led all players with 28.0 points and had 24 kills (8e, 50att, .320) to go with five digs and four service aces.
Three Trojans served four aces apiece against the Sugar Bears. In addition to Lanier, sophomore setter Cindy Marina had 26 assists to go with her four aces; and sophomore Jenna Adams put up 11 digs to go with four aces. Senior opposite hitter Niki Withers scored 11 kills (5e, 23att, .261) with a match-high four blocks; and freshman outside hitter Brooke Botkin had eight kills (1e, .333). Senior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley had 26 assists and 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the season (19th of her career).
Senior middle blocker Jordan Dunn added four kills and had two blocks for the Trojans and senior middle Danielle Geiger came off the bench to spark the Women of Troy with three blocks and six digs to go with one kill. Junior libero Victoria Garrick had 13 digs and seven assists in the match.
For the Sugar Bears, Savannah Allen and Megan Nash each finished with 12 kills. Allen hit .550 (1e, 20att) and had two blocks; and Nash hit .348 (4e, 23att) with three blocks (two solo). Elizabeth Armstrong set her team to a .226 hitting percentage and dished out 41 assists with six digs and two kills. Haley Tippett had eight kills and 13 digs.
The Trojans grabbed the early lead in the match, but the Sugar Bears fought to tie the score seven times before a kill by Allen broke the final tie for a 22-21 UCA lead. The Trojans scored one more point, but the Bears came through with the final three points of a 25-22 win. UCA hit .378 in the opening frame with 17 kills (3e, 37at).
The Sugar Bears seized control of the second set and led by as many as four points but a big 8-2 run by the Trojans turned the tables and had USC on top, 15-13. The teams went back and forth and were tied at 23-all when Lanier tooled the block, but UCA put a shot into the net and then went long on the final point of a 25-23 USC win to even the match. The Women of Troy collected 21 kills and hit .441 (6e, 34att) in the second set to outpace the Sugar Bears' .393 (14k, 3e, 28att) outing.
The teams were tied at nine-all in the third set when the Trojans broke free for a wild 11-3 run to lead by eight points, 20-12, on a block by Botkin and Geiger. The Sugar Bears tried to cut into the lead and scored a run of their own to pull within three at 21-18, but Abercrombie went down the line, Adams served and ace, and Lanier tooled the block on consecutive rallies to sew up a 25-18 win for the Women of Troy. USC held UCA to a .129 hitting rate in the third set with 10 kills (5e, 36att).
USC stormed out to a 7-3 lead to open the fourth set with three kills in a row—one from Withers and two from Botkin—and an ace by Lanier. The Sugar Bears tried to climb back into the set and pulled within two at 10-8, but Lanier's kill, followed by back-to-back aces from Adams, put the Women of Troy on top, 13-8. Five consecutive hitting errors for UCA put the Trojans in front by 10 points at 18-8. Down the stretch, Abercrombie scored two kills for her 1,000th, Marina scored a pair of aces for a 23-10 lead, and Withers scored the final two kills to top off a 25-12 USC win.
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Periscope, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
MATCH NOTES
USC HEAD COACH MICK HALEY
On getting a hard-fought win in the first round of the NCAA tournament
"It's always nice to get that first win. You get amped up to play in this game. You've worked all season, and then you're jumping higher than you've jumped all year; you're going faster and your motor is running. It can put you all out of kilter for a while. We couldn't really get into rhythm until the middle of the season set. When we finally calmed down a little bit, it was still touch and go for some time. We were very fortunate to get that second set and then we relaxed and played our game."
On the toughness that Central Arkansas displayed against his team
"That's a very good team. They do what they do very well and they're taught very well by a very good coach. I have a real appreciation for the way that they played. I thought they really gave us a good match."
On the changes the team made and the contributions it needed to get tonight's win
"We just matched up a little better later. We were having some trouble with their speed and some of their quick arm-swings. When we brought [Dani] Geiger in, she really did a nice job. Khalia [Lanier] really kept us in this match those first two sets with all the kills she got. Niki [Withers] finally started to hit quick instead of just hard and that allowed us to take advantage of some things. I felt our setters played well tonight and Cindy [Marina] played one of the best matches she has played all year."
Senior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie collected her 1,000th career kill and finished with 14 kills on the night (5e, 33att, .273). She became just the 16th player in program history to break the 1,000-kill plateau. Sophomore outside hitter Khalia Lanier led all players with 28.0 points and had 24 kills (8e, 50att, .320) to go with five digs and four service aces.
Three Trojans served four aces apiece against the Sugar Bears. In addition to Lanier, sophomore setter Cindy Marina had 26 assists to go with her four aces; and sophomore Jenna Adams put up 11 digs to go with four aces. Senior opposite hitter Niki Withers scored 11 kills (5e, 23att, .261) with a match-high four blocks; and freshman outside hitter Brooke Botkin had eight kills (1e, .333). Senior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley had 26 assists and 11 digs for her 10th double-double of the season (19th of her career).
Senior middle blocker Jordan Dunn added four kills and had two blocks for the Trojans and senior middle Danielle Geiger came off the bench to spark the Women of Troy with three blocks and six digs to go with one kill. Junior libero Victoria Garrick had 13 digs and seven assists in the match.
For the Sugar Bears, Savannah Allen and Megan Nash each finished with 12 kills. Allen hit .550 (1e, 20att) and had two blocks; and Nash hit .348 (4e, 23att) with three blocks (two solo). Elizabeth Armstrong set her team to a .226 hitting percentage and dished out 41 assists with six digs and two kills. Haley Tippett had eight kills and 13 digs.
The Trojans grabbed the early lead in the match, but the Sugar Bears fought to tie the score seven times before a kill by Allen broke the final tie for a 22-21 UCA lead. The Trojans scored one more point, but the Bears came through with the final three points of a 25-22 win. UCA hit .378 in the opening frame with 17 kills (3e, 37at).
The Sugar Bears seized control of the second set and led by as many as four points but a big 8-2 run by the Trojans turned the tables and had USC on top, 15-13. The teams went back and forth and were tied at 23-all when Lanier tooled the block, but UCA put a shot into the net and then went long on the final point of a 25-23 USC win to even the match. The Women of Troy collected 21 kills and hit .441 (6e, 34att) in the second set to outpace the Sugar Bears' .393 (14k, 3e, 28att) outing.
The teams were tied at nine-all in the third set when the Trojans broke free for a wild 11-3 run to lead by eight points, 20-12, on a block by Botkin and Geiger. The Sugar Bears tried to cut into the lead and scored a run of their own to pull within three at 21-18, but Abercrombie went down the line, Adams served and ace, and Lanier tooled the block on consecutive rallies to sew up a 25-18 win for the Women of Troy. USC held UCA to a .129 hitting rate in the third set with 10 kills (5e, 36att).
USC stormed out to a 7-3 lead to open the fourth set with three kills in a row—one from Withers and two from Botkin—and an ace by Lanier. The Sugar Bears tried to climb back into the set and pulled within two at 10-8, but Lanier's kill, followed by back-to-back aces from Adams, put the Women of Troy on top, 13-8. Five consecutive hitting errors for UCA put the Trojans in front by 10 points at 18-8. Down the stretch, Abercrombie scored two kills for her 1,000th, Marina scored a pair of aces for a 23-10 lead, and Withers scored the final two kills to top off a 25-12 USC win.
For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Periscope, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
MATCH NOTES
- USC met Central Arkansas for the first time in program history.
- The Trojans improved to 11-2 at the Galen Center this season and earned the program's 150th win in the building (150-32 all-time). USC also went to 18-3 in all-time NCAA tournament matches played at the arena.
- The Women of Troy improved to 30-5 in all-time NCAA first round matches.
- USC improved to 16-1 in all-time NCAA first-round matches under head coach Mick Haley and to 47-14 in all-time NCAA tournament matches under the 17-year head coach.
- Sr. OPP Brittany Abercrombie became the 16th player in program history to reach the 1,000-kill threshold as she finished right on the mark with 14 kills against the Sugar Bears.
- Sr. S Reni Meyer-Whalley earned her 10th double-double of the season with 26 assists and 11 digs.
- The Trojans scored a season-high 12 aces in a single match; three different players had four aces apiece.
- So. S Cindy Marina matched her career high with four aces (her most in a single match as a Trojan) and So. DS Jenna Adams set a new career high with four service aces.
USC HEAD COACH MICK HALEY
On getting a hard-fought win in the first round of the NCAA tournament
"It's always nice to get that first win. You get amped up to play in this game. You've worked all season, and then you're jumping higher than you've jumped all year; you're going faster and your motor is running. It can put you all out of kilter for a while. We couldn't really get into rhythm until the middle of the season set. When we finally calmed down a little bit, it was still touch and go for some time. We were very fortunate to get that second set and then we relaxed and played our game."
On the toughness that Central Arkansas displayed against his team
"That's a very good team. They do what they do very well and they're taught very well by a very good coach. I have a real appreciation for the way that they played. I thought they really gave us a good match."
On the changes the team made and the contributions it needed to get tonight's win
"We just matched up a little better later. We were having some trouble with their speed and some of their quick arm-swings. When we brought [Dani] Geiger in, she really did a nice job. Khalia [Lanier] really kept us in this match those first two sets with all the kills she got. Niki [Withers] finally started to hit quick instead of just hard and that allowed us to take advantage of some things. I felt our setters played well tonight and Cindy [Marina] played one of the best matches she has played all year."
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