No. 24 USC Women's Volleyball Wraps Regular Season with No. 6 Ducks and Bruins

LOS ANGELES – The 24th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (18-10, 12-6 Pac-12) closes the regular season this week with a trip to Eugene for a Tuesday-night (Nov. 21) meeting with No. 6 Oregon (24-5, 14-4) at Matthew Knight Arena before a Friday (Nov. 24) match-up against crosstown rival UCLA (16-12, 8-10) at Galen Center. The Women of Troy are tied for fourth in the Pac-12 standings and can still tie for second place or finish in fifth depending on the outcome of play around the league this week. Stanford clinched the outright Pac-12 championship and the league's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament earlier this week.

MATCH #29 • Tuesday, Nov. 21 • 6 p.m. PT
No. 24 USC (18-10) at No. 6 Oregon (24-5, 14-4)
Matthew Knight Arena • Eugene, Ore.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 56-19 (.747)
LAST MEETING: L 3-2 (Nov. 20, 2022 • Eugene, Ore.)
STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 3-7
STREAM: Pac-12 Insider (TBA)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoDucks.com

MATCH #30 • Friday, Nov. 24 • 7 p.m. PT
No. 24 USC (18-10) vs. UCLA (16-12, 8-10)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 64-57 (.529)
LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (Sept. 20, 2023 • Pauley Pavilion)
STREAK: Won 4 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 6-4
TV: Pac-12 LA (Anne Marie Anderson & Holly McPeak)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCLABruins.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

USC is led by fourth-year head coach Brad Keller who has the unique experience of having coached both men's and women's programs at both USC and UCLA. Overall, Keller is 62-44 (.585) as the Trojans' head coach.
The Women of Troy are 11-1 at home this season and are 204-55 (.788) all-time at Galen Center since it opened in 2006.
The Trojans are 6-4 in five-set matches this season and have played four sets (9) and three sets (9) fewer times than they have played five.
USC is 58-14 all-time in the state of Oregon (28-7 against the Ducks) and has won 12 of its last 15 matches in the Beaver State since 2015.
Sr. OH Skylar Fields has had double-digit kills in 26 matches; and has been named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week three times this season (seven career). She leads the Pac-12 in kills (5.23 kps) and points (5.65 pps).
Fr. OH London Wijay has been named Pac-12's Freshman of the Week four times this season and is USC's second-leading scorer (2.84 pps).

LAST TIME OUT: USC split home matches at Galen Center and extended its home win streak to 13 matches on a 3-1 win over California before taking a four-set loss to No. 2-ranked Stanford. The 1-1 weekend kept the Trojans in a fourth-place tie in the Pac-12 standings. Mia Tuaniga put up back-to-back double-doubles (28 in her career) while Skylar Fields recorded her 10th straight match with 20 or more kills in USC's win over the Golden Bears. Fields did not play against the Cardinal but London Wijay put up her fifth double-double with 10 kills and a career-high 15 dig effort against Stanford.

TIME TO PAC IT UP: The Women of Troy play their final season in the Pac-12 Conference. On June 30, 2022, USC and UCLA both announced that the schools' athletic programs would join the Big Ten Conference in 2024. Since that time, Oregon and Washington have made similar announcements and all four teams will now compete in the Big Ten for most sports.

PLUCKY DUCKS: Since 2019, USC and Oregon have played five-set matches six times, and all six have gone the Ducks' way; four times at Galen Center and twice in Eugene. Prior to the recent plethora of marathon matches with Oregon, USC owned a dominant 55-13 all-time in the head-to-head history. The Trojans are now 56-19 against the Ducks (6-6 in five-setters) including a 28-7 mark in Eugene. From Oct. 26, 1990, to Oct. 12, 2007, the Women of Troy won 34 consecutive matches over the Ducks.

CROSSTOWN CONNECTIONS: USC head coach Brad Keller has the unique distinction of having coached both the men's and women's volleyball programs at both USC and UCLA. Prior to his arrival at USC, he served one season (2019) as UCLA's associate head coach. The Trojans' associate head coach Spencer McLachlinalso has UCLA ties having served as an assistant coach for the Bruin men (alongside Keller in his first season) for three years (2018-21). Assistant coach Megan Moenoa was a standout setter for the Bruin women and helped UCLA capture the 2011 NCAA championship. She graduated from UCLA in 2015. USC technical coordinator Virginia Pham also graduated from UCLA in 2015—with a bachelor's degree in computer science—and served three seasons as a student assistant for several of the Bruins' volleyball programs. Junior OH Katelyn Smith has a twin sister named Jessie who plays for UCLA's beach volleyball team.

AGREE TO DISAGREE: The Women of Troy lead the all-time series with rival UCLA by a 64-57 margin. Ask someone in blue and gold and they'll tell you otherwise. The Bruins claim to lead the series, 68-64, but how? UCLA's program, which started in 1972, is several years older than the one at USC, which began in 1976. The Bruins earned a handful of victories over the Trojans before the Women of Troy officially started a varsity program. In those four seasons, the Bruins racked up 11 wins against USC's club team, which are included in UCLA's all-time record.

KILLER QUEENS: The Women of Troy rank first in the Pac-12 in kills (1,507), attacks (3,821), assists (1,419), and digs (1,594). OH Skylar Fields is the most terminal of all Pac-12 players at 5.23 kills per set, which also ranks second in the nation. Behind her, OH London Wijay (2.56 kps) also racks up more than two kills per frame. In total, five different Trojans have 100 or more kills this season.

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Players Mentioned

Skylar Fields

Katelyn Smith

Mia Tuaniga

London Wijay