No. 15 USC Women's Volleyball Falls in Sweep to No. 9 Texas

Wednesday, September 2

Austin, Texas

8:00 p.m. CT / 6:00 p.m. PT

USC

1-2,0-0Big Ten

Texas

3-2,0-0SEC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Southern California	16	21	20	0
Texas	25	25	25	3

USC women's volleyball players huddle on the court during a match against Texas at Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Texas.

Photo by: Brianna Sheu

No. 15 USC Women's Volleyball Falls in Sweep to No. 9 Texas

September 02, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

The Trojans got 12.0 points from OH London Wijay who led the team with 11 kills against the Longhorns

AUSTIN, Texas – The 15th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (1-2) dropped a three-set decision (25-16, 25-21, 25-20) to No. 9 Texas (3-2) as part of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge at Gregory Gymnasium on Wednesday, Sept. 2.

KEY PLAYERS

RS Jr. OH London Wijay led the Trojans with 12.0 points earned on 11 kills (4e, 29att, .241) with seven digs and two blocks.
So. OPP Abigail Mullen put up nine kills (4e, 28att, .179) and had three digs, two blocks, and a service ace.
Jr. S Lilli Etter dished out 28 assists to go with six digs, two blocks, and a service ace.
Jr. MB Mia Tvrdy had four kills and three blocks.
So. LIB Taylor Deckert put in seven digs and had three assists.
RS Jr. MB Leah Ford scored 7.5 points with five kills and five blocks to go with three digs.
For the Longhorns, Cari Spears had a match-high 17 kills to go with eight digs and two aces. Torrey Stafford had 14 kills, five digs, and three blocks (one solo). Ramsey Gary put up 11 digs to lead all players and Rella Binney had 31 assists to go with nine digs and scored on a service ace.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The score was tied six times through 12 rallies, but Texas pulled away to lead the first for good on a 6-1 run. The Longhorns maintained their distance en route to a 25-16 win behind .321 hitting and got six kills from Spears in the opening frame. Stafford had four kills including the clinching point. The Trojans hit .227 led by three kills from Mullen and got two each from Adonia Faumuina and Ford. USC outblocked the Horns, 4-1, in set one but Texas had a 9-5 edge in digs.
Set two opened with four ties, but the Longhorns pulled away to lead by as many as five points at 12-7. The Trojans chipped away and ended a 7-1 run with a 15-14 lead, but Texas stayed pace with USC until it broke a 19-all tie on back-to-back kills to lead for good on the way to a 25-21 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. The Horns had four blocks and held USC to a .097 hitting rate (10k, 7e, 31att). Texas hit at a .353 clip with 16 kills (4e) on 34 swings. Spears and Stafford each knocked down seven kills apiece in the second set.
In a set it led by as many as six points, USC surrendered an 11-2 run that all but sealed the sweep. The Longhorns put up six block through that run and staved off any Trojan comeback to close out a 25-20 win. Wijay came alive and had seven kills, but it wasn't enough to overcome a Texas offense that hit .257 over USC's .116 and outdug the Trojans, 17-16.

UP NEXT

USC goes to Daygo for a match with San Diego (2-1) as part of the Jack Talmadge Volleyball Classic at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Sunday (Sept. 6). The Trojans and the Toreros will meet for a 2 p.m. bout that will be shown on ESPN+.

MATCH NOTES

USC fell to 5-7 all-time against Texas—which includes a 2-4 mark in Austin—and has lost each of the last five meetings with the Longhorns.
The Trojans faced their third straight ranked opponent (all in the top 13) and opened a season against three straight ranked foes for the first time in program history.
USC fell to 33-10 all-time in the state of Texas and to 12-4 in the city of Austin.

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.