No. 24 USC Women's Volleyball Tops California in Four

Friday, November 17

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM

USC

18-9,12-5Pac-12

California

15-13,4-13Pac-12

California

Southern California

Photo by: Drake Lee

No. 24 USC Women's Volleyball Tops California in Four

November 17, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

The Women of Troy improve to 11-0 at home behind a 21-kill performance from OH Skylar Fields

LOS ANGELES – The 24th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (18-9, 12-5 Pac-12) took down California (15-13, 4-13) in four sets (25-15, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22) at Galen Center on Friday, Nov. 17, to stay undefeated at home this season (11-0) and extend its home win streak to 13 consecutive victories.

KEY PLAYERS

Sr. OH Skylar Fields led the Trojans with 21 kills (9e, 55att, .218) to go with 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season (18th career). It was her 56th time in double-digit kills as a Trojan; her 35th time with 20 or more kills in a match. It was her 10th straight match over 20 kills and she now has 1,163 kills at USC and 2,089 in her career.
Jr. S Mia Tuaniga dished out 40 assists to go with 16 digs for her 12th double-double of the season (27th career). She also racked up four service aces, three kills, and two blocks for eight points.
Gr. OPP Kalyah Williams scored nine kills (1e, 21att) and hit .381 to go with a season-high five blocks and eight digs to match her career best for digs.
Fr. OH London Wijay had six kills with 11 digs, two blocks, and a service ace.
So. MB Tyrah Ariail scored seven kills (2e, 17att, .294) to go with a career-high nine blocks and added four digs, two service aces, and a pair of assists.
Sr. MB Lindsey Miller had eight kills (2e, 17att, .353) with three blocks (one solo).
Gr. LIB/DS Ellie Snook totaled a season-high 21 digs to go with five assists.
For the Golden Bears, Maggie Li had a double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs. Sam Taumoepeau totaled 14 kills and 15 digs for a double-double. Tara DeSa led all players with 31 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USC out-hit Cal, .217 to .141, and had more kills (54-49), assists (51-45), digs (81-77), blocks (12-9) and service aces (7-1).
The Trojans racked up five blocks in the opening set and got seven kills from Fields to close out a 25-15 win. DeSa had nine digs to help hold USC to a .263 hitting percentage but the Trojans' work at the net kept the Bears at a negative .023 hitting rate with 10 kills (11e) on 44 swings.
USC posted three more blocks in the second set and out-hit Cal, .235 to .176, en route to a 25-17 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. Wijay posted four kills to lead the Women of Troy and Snook put up seven of her digs in set two. In addition to better offensive output, the Trojans also did plenty of damage from the service line with five service aces including three from Tuaniga and one each from Wijay and Ariail.
The third set saw 11 tie scores and five lead changes before the Bears sealed a 25-23 win. Fields and Williams each had four kills apiece to lead the Trojans and Snook delivered seven more digs. Tuaniga had six digs and picked up two kills to go with her nine assists in the third. Li had five kills to lead the Bears while DeSa tallied nine more digs.
Fields poured in seven kills and collected seven digs in the fourth and the Trojans served a pair of aces to seal the win on a 25-22 victory. Cal outhit USC, .200 to .182 with each team collecting 15 kills in the frame. DeSa had seven more digs to eclipse the 30-dig mark and Li added six more to help hold the Trojans hitting in check.

UP NEXT

The Women of Troy remain home to host No. 2-ranked Stanford (23-3, 16-1 Pac-12) on Sunday (Nov. 19) at noon PT at Galen Center. The match will be carried live on a Pac-12 Insider.

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 68-13 all-time against California and to 34-3 at home against the Golden Bears.
The Women of Troy go to 11-0 at home this season and have won their 13th straight home match dating back to Nov. 12, 2022. USC goes to 204-54 all-time at Galen Center.

For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, X, and Instagram.