USC Women's Volleyball's London Wijay and Reese Messer Tabbed for Big Ten Weekly Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – USC women's volleyball redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay (Porter Ranch, Calif./Bishop Alemany HS) was chosen as the Big Ten Player of the Week for the second time and freshman Reese Messer (Olathe, Kan./Saint James Academy) was named co-Setter of the Week for the week of Oct. 27-Nov. 2, the Conference announced on Monday, Nov. 3.

Wijay was also the Big Ten Player of the Week on Oct. 20. Messer earned her third award of the season and collects her first-career Setter of the Week honor. She was chosen previously twice chosen for the Freshman of the Week award (Sept. 22, Oct. 27). The two selections ups USC's total to seven weekly awards this season. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Leah Ford was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 1) and Taylor Deckert was tabbed Freshman of the Week (Oct. 20).

Wijay reached a new career high with 25 kills (6e, 52att) with a .365 hitting percentage to lead USC to a critical road win over No. 20 Minnesota. In the process, she produced her fourth double-double (13th career) with 12 digs. Wijay also equaled her career high with 26.5 points in the contest with a service ace and block. She has reached double-digit kills a team-high 15 times and has had a team-high double-digit points 17 times. Wijay averaged 4.50 kills per set with .346 hitting, 2.38 digs per set, and 4.88 points per set this week; and received 36 serves with a .944 passing percentage.

Messer set USC to .349 hitting across two victories and recorded a career-high 54 assists to secure a five-set road win over No. 20 Minnesota. She also reached a new career high with 10.0 points and equaled career marks with five blocks and three service aces in the win over the Gophers. Messer tallied her ninth double-double of the season with 42 assists and 13 digs in a 3-0 sweep of crosstown rival UCLA while setting the Trojans to .285 hitting. In the two wins, she averaged 12.00 assists per set to go with 2.75 digs per set.

Among other award winners, Nebraska's Rebekah Allick was named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Week and Bergen Reilly shared Setter of the Week honors with Messer. Indiana's Jaidyn Jager was chosen as the Freshman of the Week.

No. 17 USC (17-5, 8-4 Big Ten) returns home with a six-match win streak to host Northwestern (15-9, 5-7 Big Ten) on Thursday (Nov. 6) at Galen Center for a 7 p.m. PT first serve. The Trojans and Wildcats will be shown live on Big Ten Plus. USC then heads to the Pacific Northwest to take on Washington (10-12, 5-7) for the second time on Sunday (Nov. 9) at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, Wash. The Trojans and Huskies will also be shown live on a Big Ten Plus stream and are set to meet at 2 p.m. PT at Hec Ed.

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

USC BIG TEN VOLLEYBALL WEEKLY AWARDS

2024
Mia Tuaniga, Setter of the Week (Sept. 23)
Jadyn Livings, Freshman of the Week (Sept. 23)
Mia Tuaniga, Setter of the Week (Nov. 4)
Ally Batenhorst, Player of the Week (Nov. 4)

2025
Leah Ford, Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 1)
Reese Messer, Freshman of the Week (Sept. 22)
London Wijay, Player of the Week (Oct. 20)
Taylor Deckert, Freshman of the Week (Oct. 20)
Reese Messer, Freshman of the Week (Oct. 27)
London Wijay, Player of the Week (Nov. 3)
Reese Messer, Co-Setter of the Week (Nov. 3)

USC Women's Volleyball's London Wijay and Reese Messer Tabbed for Big Ten Weekly Awards

Players Mentioned

Ally Batenhorst

Taylor Deckert

Leah Ford

Jadyn Livings

Reese Messer

Mia Tuaniga

London Wijay

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