#13 USC Outlasts #10 Utah for 5th Victory over Ranked Opponent

MATCH NOTES

• #13 USC def. #10 Utah 3-2 (21-25, 28-26, 20-25, 25-21, 15-9)
• USC moves to 15-6 overall, 7-3 Pac 12
• Utah drops to 17-4 overall, 8-2 Pac 12
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Attendance: 2,004
• Box Score
• VolleyMob Top 25 Power Rankings (Week 9)

The #13 USC Women of Troy outlasted the #10 Utah Utes in a five-set thriller that marked USC’s fifth victory this season over a ranked opponent.

USC was led offensively by senior Niki Withers, who recorded 22 kills, while senior Brittany Abercrombie added another 16. Other key contributors for the Women of Troy included junior middle Brittany Welsh (12 blocks) and junior libero Victoria Garrick (22 digs).

For the Utes, three players registered double-digit kills: junior middle Berkeley Oblad (13 kills), senior outside Carly Trueman (11 kills) and senior outside Adora Anae (14 kills), who also had 16 digs to register a double-double. Sophomore setter Bailey Choy dished out 44 assists, and sophomore libero Brianna Doehrmann anchored the back-row defense with 17 digs.

The Utes won the first set 25-21 on an Oblad kill, but USC answered in the second frame when a kill by sophomore opposite Daley Krage ended a 28-26 deuce set.

After the intermission, Utah came out strong, leading by as many as 11 midway through the third on their way to a 25-20 victory. The Women of Troy fought back again and forced the tiebreaker set after winning the fourth frame 25-21.

In the fifth, USC raced to a 5-1 lead they were able to sustain en route to the 15-9 victory.

Next up, Utah heads to #16 Oregon for a Wednesday tilt, while USC travels to #15 Washington for a Friday match.

VIDEO

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: USC Athletics

No. 19 USC Bounces Back to Bring Down No. 12 Utes in Five Sets

The Women of Troy finished the front half of their Pac-12 schedule with a 7-3 record

SALT LAKE CITY – The 19th-ranked USC women’s volleyball team (15-6, 7-3 Pac-12) went the distance to defeat 12th-ranked Utah (17-4, 8-2) in five sets (21-25, 28-26, 20-25, 25-21, 15-9) at the Jon Huntsman Center on Sunday, Oct. 22.

The victory is the fifth over a ranked opponent this season for the Women of Troy who finished the front half of their conference schedule with a 7-3 mark. The Trojans improved to 5-1 in their last six trips to Salt Lake City and put an end to a short two-match skid.

Up next, USC heads to the Pacific Northwest to face Washington on Friday (Oct. 27, 6 p.m. PT) at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle; and Washington State on Sunday (Oct. 29, 1 p.m. PT) at Bohler Gymnasium in Pullman, Wash. Both matches will be shown live on the Pac-12 Networks and streamed at Pac-12.com/live with authentication.

Courtesy: Utah Athletics

#19 Trojans Slip Past #12 Utes

Utes fourth loss of the season comes in five-set heartbreaker

SALT LAKE CITY – The No. 12 Utah Utes (17-4, 8-2) snapped a seven-match winning streak, falling to the No. 19-ranked USC Trojans (15-6, 7-3) in five sets (25-21, 26-28, 25-20, 21-25, 9-15) Sunday afternoon at the Huntsman Center.

Utah erased an early 9-2 deficit and would go on to take the first set, 25-21. Down seven points, Adora Anae opened a 6-0 run with a kill to get the Utes back within a point. Then down 10-8, the Utes responded with an 8-1 run and never looked back. The Trojans would get back within three points late in the frame, but Berkeley Olbad connected on her second kill of the set to give the Utes the first-set win.

The Trojans came back to tie the match at 1-1 after taking the second set, 28-26. Utah led 15-14 following the media timeout and then again 19-15 when Dani Barton connected on a kill, but USC countered with a 5-0 run and later closed out the set winning five of the final seven points to take the frame.

The Utes looked to cruise through the majority of the third set, despite just hitting .111 in the frame. The Utah defense limited the Trojans to hitting at a clip of just .073 and Utah would go up 2-1 after taking the frame 25-20. Utah led by as many as 11 points midway through the set, but USC rallied late and got back to within four points, down 24-20, before Oblad closed out the frame with a kill.

Utah led 13-9 midway through the fourth set, but USC countered with a pair of 6-1 runs to lead late in the frame, 21-18. Utah won the next point out of a timeout, but the Trojans still managed to close out the set and push the match into a decisive fifth set, taking the fourth frame 25-21.

USC jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the final frame and never looked back on the way to downing the Utes 15-9. Utah would go on a 3-1 run after trailing 12-6, but it would prove to be the final points that the Utes would earn in the set.

Anae led the Utes with 14 kills on the afternoon, while both Oblad (13) and Carly Trueman (11) both added double-digit kill efforts. Bailey Choy registered a 40-assist workload for the third straight contest, leading all players with 44 assists on the day.

Brianna Doehrmann led the Utes with 17 digs and Anae followed with 16 digs to give her another double-double on the season. Shannon Scully totaled 15 digs and Kenzie Koerber followed with 12 digs, giving Utah four players with double-digit dig numbers.

Oblad led the Utes at the next with eight total blocks and Tawnee Luafalemana added six blocks. Utah totaled 14.0 blocks as a team, but USC led the way with 18.0 total team blocks on the afternoon.

Utah tallied 69 kills to USC’s total of 63, but the Trojans managed to outhit the Utes, .174 to .168.

Utah will be back in action next week with a pair of road matches through the state of Oregon. The Utes will open the week at Oregon on Wednesday, Oct. 25. First serve between the Utes and Ducks is set for 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT at Matthew Knight Arena.