No. 17 USC Women's Volleyball Drops Five-Setter To No. 15 Penn State

Friday, September 26

University Park, Pa.

5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET

USC

9-2,0-1Big Ten

Penn State

7-4,1-0Big Ten

Southern California

Penn St.

No. 17 USC Women's Volleyball Drops Five-Setter To No. 15 Penn State

September 26, 2025 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 17 USC women's volleyball team (9-2, 0-1 Big Ten) fell in a five-set battle (13-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-19, 13-15) with the No. 15 Nittany Lions of Penn State to start Big Ten play on Friday, Sept. 26.

KEY PLAYERS

Reese Messer had the fifth double-double of her career in tonight's five-setter. The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week finished the match with 37 assists and a team-high 16 digs. She also had four kills with no errors, two blocks and an ace.
London Wijay earned her fourth double-double of the season, ending the night with 10 kills and 10 digs. Along with that, she had three blocks and an ace.
Adonia Faumuina concluded the match with a team-high 11 kills and only three errors. This is the second time this season that Faumuina led the Trojans in kills.
Leah Ford was a force at the net. The middle blocker notched eight blocks to go along with a .500 hitting percentage (5k, 1e, 8a).
Taylor Deckert held down the defense, securing 13 digs for the Women of Troy.
Abigail Mullen dominated from the service line, notching four aces. She also added eight digs.
For Penn State, Kennedy Martin had the hot hand. She finished the match with a double-double, securing 29 kills and 13 digs to go along with five blocks and two aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Penn State started strong in the first set, holding the Trojans to just 13 points and a .000 hitting percentage. This is the lowest number of points the Trojans scored in a set this season.
USC's offense warmed up in the second set thanks to Rylie McGinest, who hit at a .429 clip (3k, 0e, 7a).
The Women of Troy's block silenced the Nittany Lions in the third set as USC came back for the 25-19 win. USC secured nine blocks in that set and held Penn State to a .031 hitting percentage.
The Trojans' offense hit its peak in the fourth set. Adonia Faumuina, Reese Messer, and Leah Ford all had three kills with no errors while the team hit at a .353 clip. USC's defense also kept the pressure on Penn State, grabbing seven blocks and 12 digs.
These two teams exchanged the lead four times in the fifth set. Even though USC's defense shined with seven blocks and 18 digs, the offense couldn't get hot as the Trojans hit at a .129 clip, which resulted in them falling 15-13 to Penn State.

UP NEXT

The Trojans will continue with Big Ten play, making the trip to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, Sept. 27. First serve will be at 4 p.m. PT and can be streamed on Big Ten Plus.

MATCH NOTES

USC is now 36-14 in conference openers and 15-9 when they open conference play on the road.
This is the eighth match this season where the Trojans reached double-digits in blocks.
This is the third match in a row where at least two players earned double-doubles for USC.
Following this match, the Trojans are 2-4 all-time against the Nittany Lions.