No. 20 USC Women's Volleyball Celebrates Senior Night with Iowa Sweep

Friday, November 29

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

USC

21-9,13-7Big Ten

Iowa

10-22,4-16Big Ten

Iowa

Southern California

USC's senior class of Grae Gosnell, Ally Batenhorst, Mia Tuaniga, Tyrah Ariail, and Lindsey Miller are honored on senior night in front of the net at Galen Center.

Photo by: Katie Chin

No. 20 USC Women's Volleyball Celebrates Senior Night with Iowa Sweep

November 29, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Mia Tuaniga had a double-double with 35 assists and 10 digs and Ally Batenhorst collected 16 kills in a win over the Hawkeyes

LOS ANGELES – The No. 20-ranked USC women's volleyball team (21-9, 13-7 Big Ten) swept Iowa (10-22, 4-16) in three sets (25-16, 25-23, 25-16) on Senior Night at Galen Center on Friday, Nov. 29. The Women of Troy conclude the regular season in a sixth-place tie with Minnesota in the Big Ten standings and now await selection into the NCAA tournament.

KEY PLAYERS

Sr. S Mia Tuaniga dished out 35 assists and had 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the season (37th of her career) and set the Trojans to .371 hitting (47k, 8e, 105att); the team's 10th match over .300. Tuaniga also tallied three service aces—her 21st-career match with three or more aces—and had two kills and two blocks to log 6.0 points. Tuaniga upped her season total to 48 service aces, which ranks 10th in school history and now has 160 aces in her career, just four from tying for third all-time (April Ross, 2000-03). Only Samantha Bricio (301) and Nancy Hillman (170) have had more at USC.
Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst led all players with 16 kills (3e, 40att) and hit .325 to go with nine digs, four blocks, and a service ace for a match-high 19.0 points. She is now just 16 kills from the 1,000-kill mark in her career (984).
Fr. MB Favor Anyanwu scored 10.0 points with nine kills (1e, 15att) and .533 hitting with two blocks.
Redshirt So. OH Adonia Faumuina had nine kills (3e, 23att, .261) and added three digs.
Jr. LIB Gala Trubint had a match-high 15 digs for her 68th-career match in double digits and added seven assists.
Redshirt Jr. MB Tyrah Ariail logged seven kills (1e, 12att) with .500 hitting and had four blocks.
Redshirt So. OPP Madison Pietsch had four kills on 10 swings (.400) with three digs and a block.
For the Hawkeyes, Malu Garcia led with 11 kills, four blocks, and two service aces. Michelle Urquhart had 10 digs, six kills, and a service ace. Jenna Meitzler put up 20 assists, three digs, and had a block.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Trojans out-hit the Hawkeyes, .371 to .155, and had more kills (47-34), assists (45-34), digs (52-42), and blocks (6.5-1.0).
Anyanwu and Batenhorst each turned in four-kill performances in the first set and helped power the Trojans to a .342 hitting rate (14k, 1e, 38att) and a 25-16 win. USC put up two blocks and had 19 digs—five from Trubint—to hold the Hawkeyes to a .128 hitting percentage with 12 kills on 39 swings. Iowa also had 19 digs and had two aces.
USC went on top, 2-0, with a 25-23 win in the second. Batenhorst tallied five more kills while Faumuina, Anyanwu, Ariail, each added three to lift the Trojans to a .361 hitting percentage (17k, 4e) on 36 attacks. Trubint dug up six balls and the Women of Troy logged three more blocks in the win. Tuaniga put up two aces and had a kill to score three points while handing out 14 assists.
Batenhorst topped off her night with seven kills on 13 swings and helped USC hit .419 with 16 kills (3e) on 31 swings. Iowa led by four at 5-1, but the Trojans turned the tables to take the lead at 7-6 and was never threatened again on the way to a 25-16 win. Faumuina tallied four kills and had three digs as she rotated through the back row while Anyanwu and Pietsch each added two kills apiece in the win.

UP NEXT

The Women of Troy have concluded the regular season and now await a berth in the NCAA tournament as an at-large selection. The selection committee will announce the 64-team bracket on ESPN on Sunday, Dec. 1, at 3 p.m. PT. A berth in the tourney would mark the Trojans' 40th overall appearance and the team's third in a row under fifth-year head coach Brad Keller.

MATCH NOTES

USC and Iowa met for the first time.
The Trojans improved to 12-4 in home matches this season and improved to 216-60 all-time at Galen Center.
The Women of Troy collected their sixth 3-0 sweep of an opponent this season.

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.