No. 19 USC Women's Volleyball Hosts Aggies, Waves and Gauchos

Friday, September 18

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 p.m. PT

USC

UC Davis

Tickets From $10

USC women's volleyball outside hitter Quinn Loper serves a ball during a match against Oregon State at Galen Center

Photo by: William Fosnot

No. 19 USC Women's Volleyball Hosts Aggies, Waves and Gauchos

September 16, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

#USCWVB Notebook (Sept. 16)2026 USC Schedule Buy Tickets

The Women of Troy close nonconference play with a trio of matches at Galen Center

LOS ANGELES – The 19th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (4-3) concludes nonconference play with three matches at Galen Center this weekend. The Women of Troy host UC Davis (3-6) on Friday (Sept. 18), Pepperdine (6-3) on Saturday (Sept. 19), and cap off the weekend against UC Santa Barbara (4-4) on Sunday (Sept. 20). All three matches will be shown live on Big Ten Plus. The USC-UC Davis match will also be shown free on the Big Ten Network's YouTube channel as part of B1G+ Free Fridays.

THIS WEEK
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.

MATCH #8 • Friday, Sept. 18 • 7 p.m. PT
No. 19 USC (4-3) vs. UC Davis (3-6)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 2-0 (1.000)
LAST MEETING: W 3-0 (Sept. 8, 2023 • Galen Center)
STREAK: Won 2 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 2-0
TV/STREAM: Big Ten Plus "Free Friday"/YouTube (Makena Arteaga, Grace Schneider, & Aidan Pham)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCDavisAggies.com

MATCH #9 • Saturday, Sept. 19 • 7 p.m. PT
No. 19 USC (4-3) vs. Pepperdine (6-3)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 41-8 (.837)
LAST MEETING: W 3-1 (Aug. 31, 2024 • Malibu, Calif.)
STREAK: Won 8 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 9-1
TV/STREAM: Big Ten Plus (Aidan Pham, Makena Arteaga, & Grace Schneider)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: PepperdineWaves.com

MATCH #10 • Sunday, Sept. 20 • 2 p.m. PT
No. 19 USC (4-3) vs. UC Santa Barbara (4-4)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 30-9 (.769)
LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (Sept. 5, 2025 • Galen Center)
STREAK: Won 7 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 8-2
TV/STREAM: Big Ten Plus (Avi Singh, Adam Ucuzoglu, & Makena Arteaga)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCSBGauchos.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

USC is led by seventh-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 114-67 (.630) as the Trojans' head coach.
The Women of Troy are ranked No. 19 in the AVCA Coaches Poll. It is the 562nd time USC is ranked in the weekly poll.
The Trojans are 233-65 (.782) all-time at Galen Center since it opened in 2006. Last year, USC won 15 matches on its home floor.
First-year USC associate head coach Matt Jones previously served three seasons as head coach at UCSB (2023-25) and led the Gauchos to 64 wins.
USC Fr. OH Layli Ostovar's older sister Ayva Ostovar is a setter at UCSB.
Redshirt Sr. OH Adonia Faumuina is the only senior on the USC roster.
So. OPP Abigail Mullen is USC's leading scorer at 4.10 points per set and ranks 11th in the Big Ten. Her 3.42 kills per set rank 15th.
RS Jr. OH London Wijay averages 3.41 kills per set (16th in the Big Ten).
Jr. S Lilli Etter averages 10.00 assists per set to rank ninth in the Big Ten.
RS Jr. MB Leah Ford (1.29 bps) ranks eighth and Jr. MB Mia Tvrdy (1.25 bps) ranks 10th in the Big Ten for blocks. USC's 2.69 bps ranks fourth in the league.
UCSB Sr. OH Auburn Tomkinson is the elder sister of USC men's volleyball Jr. MB Parker Tomkinson.

LAST TIME OUT: USC hosted a trio of former Pac-12 opponents and started with a four-set win over Arizona. 23rd-ranked Colorado then stunned the Trojans and handed USC its first home loss of the season in a 3-1 decision. The Women of Troy bounced back to claim a sweep of Oregon State to close its first weekend of play at Galen Center. Three Trojans produced the season's first double-doubles in the win over Arizona: London Wijay, Abigail Mullen, and Lilli Etter. Against the Beavers, redshirt freshman OH Quinn Loper broke out to score 12.5 points off the bench with eight kills and a USC season-high four service aces.

AVCA POLL POSITION: The Trojans opened the 2026 season ranked No. 20 in the AVCA coaches' poll—one spot higher than USC stood in the 2025 preseason poll. Overall, USC has appeared in the coaches' poll 562 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 36 of 43 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: Seventh-year head coach Brad Keller reached 100 career wins in USC's 3-1 victory over Washington on Oct. 26, 2025. He is now 114-67 (.630) and is only the fourth USC head coach ever to collect 100 or more wins in school history. Mick Haley (435), Chuck Erbe (310), and Lisa Love (205) are the others. He is now also in position to lead the Trojans to their 1,200th all-time program win.

FRESH DIGS: The Trojans freshman class of setter Milly McGee (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS), middle blocker Taliyah Hanks (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix HS), outside hitter Layli Ostovar (San Clemente, Calif./Mater Dei HS), outside hitter Riley Malloy (Austin, Texas/Austin HS), and middle blocker Addison Coady (Newport Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS) comprise the nation's fourth-ranked recruiting class according to PrepDig.com. Ostovar is considered the ninth-ranked recruit out of the 2026 class while Malloy (No. 24) and McGee (No. 27) give the Trojans three in the top 30.