USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 15 Penn State in Straight Sets

Saturday, October 17

Los Angeles, Calif.

4:00 p.m. PT

USC

8-10,2-6Big Ten

Penn State

13-5,5-3Big Ten

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Penn St.	25	25	25	3
Southern California	17	23	19	0

Highlights Press Conference

Photo by: William Fosnot

USC Women's Volleyball Falls to No. 15 Penn State in Straight Sets

October 17, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights Press Conference

London Wijay had her 19th-career double-double in a three-set loss to the Nittany Lions

LOS ANGELES – The USC women's volleyball team (8-10, 2-6 Big Ten) fell to No. 15 Penn State (13-5, 5-3) in straight sets (25-17, 25-23, 25-19) at Galen Center on Saturday, Oct. 17.

KEY PLAYERS

RS Jr. OH London Wijay led all players with 11 kills (7e, 46att) and had 11 digs. It was her second double-double of the season; 19th of her career.
So. OPP Abigail Mullen tallied eight kills with 12 digs and scored a service ace.
Fr. S Milly McGee dished out 31 assists to go with six digs and two blocks.
So. LIB Taylor Deckert put up 15 digs and had three assists.
RS Jr. MB Leah Ford led the team with four blocks and added six kills to hit .429 (14att, 0e).
Jr. MB Mia Tvrdy collected six kills on 20 swings. She added three blocks to account for 8.0 points.
RS So. DS Paisley Douglas totaled a career-high 10 digs.
For the Nittany Lions, Kennedy Martin led the team with 10 kills while contributing five digs and four blocks. Whitney Lauenstein turned in eight kills to go along with seven digs and a pair of blocks. Alexis Stucky put up 31 assists with 14 digs, two blocks, and an ace.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Nittany Lions never trailed and took the opening set, 25-17. Wijay's tool shot tied the set at 13 but Penn State went on an 8-1 run to comfortably pull ahead the rest of the way. The Nittany Lions hit .206 and recorded seven blocks to limit the Trojans on offense. Kendall Northern and Gabrielle Nichols each had three blocks while Northern paced the Lions with four kills. Wijay had four kills and four digs to lead the Trojans.
The Women of Troy trailed set two by as many as seven points but an 8-2 USC run—capped off by a Wijay kill—cut the Penn State lead to one, 20-19. The Nittany Lions held on to win the set, 25-23, to take a 2-0 lead. USC hit .185 and got five kills from Wijay, three each from Ford and Tvrdy, and eight digs from Deckert. Penn State hit .203 and totaled 18 kills (6e) on 59 swings; thanks to Lauenstein's seven kills on 17 attacks.
Ford's kill down the pipe tied the third set at seven early but Penn State never looked back enroute to a 25-19 win. A late 4-0 run helped Penn State secure the sweep. The Nittany Lions totaled 11 kills and hit .200 (4e) on 35 swings. USC was held to a .093 percentage (12k, 8e, 43att). Mullen led the Trojans with four kills, Ford added three kills, and Wijay tallied six digs.

UP NEXT

USC hits the road for a pair of Big Ten matches. The Trojans face the Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, on Thursday (Oct. 22) at 4 p.m. PT on Big Ten Plus. USC takes on No. 1 ranked Nebraska at Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday (Oct. 24) at 6 p.m. PT on Big Ten Network.

MATCH NOTES

USC goes to 2-5 all-time against Penn State.
The Women of Troy fell to 235-70 all-time at Galen Center and 138-55 when playing a conference match at home.
Today's match was the designated Dig Pink match and USC's Alumni Match. The Trojans celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1976 AIAW national championship team. The year was both the first USC awarded scholarships in women's volleyball and the first of six national crowns.

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, TikTok, and Instagram.