No. 25 USC Women's Volleyball Treks to Midwest to Meet Iowa and Wisconsin

LOS ANGELES – 25th-ranked USC (11-5, 2-4 Big Ten) heads to the Midwest to take on Iowa (10-8, 1-5) and ninth-ranked Wisconsin (12-2, 5-1) this week. The Trojans venture into the Hawkeye State for just the third time and will face the Hawkeyes for just the second time when the meet on Friday (Oct. 17) at 6 p.m. CT (4 p.m. PT). USC then visits the Badger State for the first time since 2018 to take on the Badgers on Sunday (Oct. 19) at 1 p.m. (11 a.m. PT). USC-Iowa will be shown on a Big Ten Plus stream and USC-Wisconsin will be carried live on Big Ten Network.

THIS WEEK
MATCH #17 • Friday, Oct. 17 • 6 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. PT
No. 25 USC (11-5, 2-4) at Iowa (10-8, 1-5)
Carver-Hawkeye Arena • Iowa City, Iowa
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 1-0 (1.000)
LAST MEETING: W 3-0 (Nov. 29, 2024 • Galen Center)
STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 1-0
TV/STREAM: B1G+ (AJ Reisetter & Collin Carrithers)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: HawkeyeSports.com

MATCH #18 • Sunday, Oct. 19 • 1 p.m. CT / 11 a.m. PT
No. 25 USC (11-5, 2-4) at No. 9 Wisconsin (12-2, 5-1)
UW Field House • Madison, Wis.
SERIES RECORD: USC trails, 6-3 (.333)
LAST MEETING: L 3-0 (Nov. 14, 2024 • Galen Center)
STREAK: Lost 5 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 3-6
TV: B1G Network (Chris Vosters & Mac Podraza)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UWBadgers.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

USC is led by sixth-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 96-62 (.608) as the Trojans' head coach.
The Trojans are ranked No. 25 in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
USC will face Iowa in the Hawkeyes' home state for the first time, but has played six previous matches in the state of Iowa and owns a 4-2 record.
The Women of Troy visit the Badger state for the first time since 2018 and owns a 7-3 record in Wisconsin; 4-1 in the city of Madison.
The Badgers (6-3) are one of just three Big Ten teams that own winning records against USC. Illinois (4-3) and Penn State (4-2) are the others.
The Trojans have reached double-digit blocks in eight matches and lead the Big Ten in blocks per set (2.82 bps), 13th nationally.
Redshirt So. MB Leah Ford leads USC (11th in the Big Ten) in blocks (1.23 bps).
Fr. OPP Abigail Mullen is the Trojans' leading scorer at 3.86 points per set and leads the Big Ten with 0.51 service aces per set.

LAST TIME OUT: USC split a pair of 3-0 matches last week with a sweep of Oregon at home and a straight-set loss to crosstown rival UCLA on the road. The 1-1 weekend left the Trojans at 2-4 in conference contests. The Women of Troy racked up 10 service aces in the win over the Ducks while London Wijay led the way with 16.0 points earned on 12 kills, two aces, and four blocks. Dani Thomas-Nathan got the start as a defensive specialist and put up a career-high four aces and had several extended service runs. Mia Tvrdy had nine kills and led the Trojans with five blocks. The Women of Troy led the Bruins, 11-2, in the first set, but fell in a pair of narrow sets before UCLA took the third, 25-15. Three Trojans had seven kills apiece in the loss and Adonia Faumuina shored up the defense with five blocks including a career-high three of the solo variety. UCLA out-hit the Trojans, .240 to .115 and had a 45-36 edge in digs.

AVCA POLL POSITION: The Trojans open the 2025 season ranked No. 21 in the AVCA coaches' poll—the same position it held to open the 2024 season. Overall, USC has appeared in the coaches' poll 550 times, which ranks sixth all-time. The Women of Troy have held a spot among the poll's top 10 teams 317 times, which ranks eighth all-time, and the Trojans have held the No. 1 ranking 47 times for seventh all-time. Since 1982—the year of the poll's inception—USC has appeared in the final poll 35 of 42 times with 18 finishes in the top 10; 12 in the top five, and twice as the No. 1-ranked team (2002, '03).

CENTURY CITY: Sixth-year head coach Brad Keller is 96-62 and needs four wins to reach 100 in his career. Only three other coaches have ever collected 100 or more wins in USC history: Mick Haley (435), Chuck Erbe (310), and Lisa Love (205). At 96 wins, Keller is already the fourth-winningest coach in program history.

FIGHT ON!, WISCONSIN: Did you know? In Disney's 1973 animated feature Robin Hood, USC's fight song Fight On! and Wisconsin's fight song On, Wisconsin are each played during what is known as the "escape scene." In it, Lady Kluck, Maid Marian's lady-in-waiting runs through a gauntlet of Prince John's rhinoceros and elephant soldiers to the two songs as if she is a running back on a football field.

ONCE AROUND THE BLOCK: USC's 2.82 blocks per set ranks first in the Big Ten and is 13th nationally. USC posted 16.0 blocks in a win over Loyola Marymount (Aug. 31) and has reached double-digit blocks eight times. In 2024, USC reached double-digit blocks 20 times in 32 matches including season highs of 19.5 blocks twice: vs. Kansas State (Sept. 6) and vs. Loyola Marymount (Sept. 19).

B1G AND SMALL: Only three Big Ten teams hold winning records against the Trojans. Wisconsin has the best win percentage of the three with a 6-3 mark against USC. Illinois is 4-3 and Penn State is 4-2 against the Women of Troy.

No. 25 USC Women's Volleyball Treks to Midwest to Meet Iowa and Wisconsin

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Adonia Faumuina

Leah Ford

Abigail Mullen

Dani Thomas-Nathan

Mia Tvrdy

London Wijay

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University Southern California Trojans

No. 25 USC Women's Volleyball Treks to Midwest to Meet Iowa and Wisconsin

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Adonia Faumuina

Leah Ford

Abigail Mullen

Dani Thomas-Nathan

Mia Tvrdy

London Wijay

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