Alyse Ford Hits .600 to Lead USC over Cal

Match Stats

• USC def. Cal 3-0 (26-24, 25-12, 25-21)
• USC moves to 17-10 (9-7 Pac-12); Cal falls to 9-17 (3-13 Pac-12)
• Berkeley, California
• Attendance: 937

Videos

Press Releases

Courtesy USC Athletics:

BERKELEY, Calif. — The USC women’s volleyball team (17-10, 9-7 Pac-12) took down California (9-17, 3-13 Pac-12) in a three-set sweep (26-24, 25-12, 25-21) on Saturday, Nov. 12, at Haas Pavilion. The Women of Troy had four players reach double-digits in points and were led by sophomore outside hitter Alyse Ford who produced a 14.0-point outing with 13 kills (1e, 20att, .600) and a service ace.

Junior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie tallied nine kills (3e, 24att, .250) and had four blocks for 11.0 points. Abercrombie scored six of her kills in the third set to help the Trojans secure the sweep. Freshman outside hitter Khalia Lanier added eight kills (4e, 20att, .200) and picked up six digs and three blocks (one solo) for 10.0 points. Senior middle blocker Elise Ruddins had seven kills (1e, 12att) and hit .500 to go with a match-high six blocks (one solo).

Junior opposite hitter Niki Withers contributed seven kills (1e, 10att, .600) in just two sets of action and also had four blocks. Junior middle blocker Jordan Dunn added three kills and had five blocks. On defense, senior libero Taylor Whittingham dug up 11 balls, put up five assists, and served one of four USC service aces. Sophomore defensive specialist Victoria Garrick had eight digs and an ace.

The Trojans hit .372 (47k, 12e, 94att) behind the setting of junior Reni Meyer-Whalley and senior Alice Pizzasegola. Meyer-Whalley finished with 20 assists, five digs, and a service ace while Pizzsegola had 17 assists and seven digs. As a team, the Women of Troy had 12.0 blocks to Cal’s five; the 10th time that USC has had double-digit blocks in a match this season.

For the Bears, Christine Alftin led the way with 11 kills (6e, 35att, .143). Maddie Haynes added seven kills (3e, 19att, .211) while Jenelle Jordan and Bailee Huizenga each added six kills. Mackenzie Albrecht put up 35 assists to go with seven digs and Maddy Kerr led the Bears’ defense with seven digs.

Down, 5-2, to open the match, the Trojans ripped through a 6-1 run to take an 8-6 lead. USC led by three, 14-11, when Abercrombie and Dunn teamed up for the block, but Cal responded with a 6-0 run to wrestle away the lead and went up, 17-14. The teams traded blows and were knotted at 22-all when Withers knocked down a kill. The Bears scored the next two points on kills from Jordan, but the Trojans buckled down and scored the final four points of a 26-24 win. USC completed the first frame with six blocks.

USC picked up four more blocks in the second set and used three of them in the early-going to build an 8-1 lead. The Bears could only stem the tide here and there, but USC went on top by 11 on two kills by Ford at 16-5. Withers, Ford, and then Withers again was the combo used to put the Trojans at set point, 24-10. Cal saved a pair of points before Ford terminated the final rally with her ninth kill of the match and put USC up, 2-0, on a 25-12 win.

The Bears seized control of the third set with a four-point lead at 10-6 on a kill by Savannah Rennie, but Lanier tied the score for a third time at 13-all on her kill. Cal led, 16-15, before the Trojans turned the tables with a 5-0 run to take a 20-16 lead on a pair of kills by Abercrombie and a service ace by Meyer-Whalley. The Women of Troy stayed three points ahead the rest of the way and took set point when Abercrombie scored her sixth kill of the set. Ruddins took a set from Pizzasegola to score the final kill in a 25-21 win.

Up next, USC returns home to host Oregon State (Nov. 18) and Oregon (Nov. 19) at Galen Center. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. starts. The Trojans and the Ducks meet on Saturday night for what will be USC’s Senior Night as the program honors Alice Pizzasegola, Elise Ruddins, and Taylor Whittingham. USC-OSU will be shown live on Pac-12 Los Angeles and Pac-12 Oregon. The USC-Oregon match will be streamed live for free at Pac-12.com/live.

For more information on the USC women’s volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. To purchase tickets, please visit USCTrojans.com/tickets today. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Periscope, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.

MATCH NOTES

• USC improves to 56-12 all-time against California and has won three straight over the Bears. It is also USC’s sixth straight win at Haas Pavilion since the 2009 season.
• The Trojans reached double digits in blocks in a match for the 10th time this season and improved to 11-1 when out-blocking their opponent.
• Freshman OH Khalia Lanier recorded her 25th double-digit points match of the season.
• Senior libero Taylor Whittingham registered her 23rd match this season in double digits for digs (11).
• Whittingham’s 11 digs gives her 1,652 career digs and puts her within 51 digs of third place in USC’s all-time record books (Katie Haller, 1990-93; 1,702 digs).

Courtesy Cal Athletics:

BERKELEY – Junior Christine Alftin had 11 kills and senior Jenelle Jordan added six kills and two blocks but the Cal volleyball team fell to USC 26-24, 25-12, 25-21 on Saturday.

Freshman Maddie Haynes had seven kills for the Bears (9-17, 3-13 Pac-12) and fellow freshman Bailee Huizenga added six kills.

Sophomore setter Mackenzie Albrecht had 35 assists and seven digs in her second straight start for injured senior Alyssa Jensen.

The Bears started the match strongly, using a six-point run to erase a 14-11 deficit to lead 17-14. The Trojans countered with four points in a row of their own to go back in front, and it stayed close until Cal scored back-to-back points on kills by Jordan to reach set point. But once again USC answered, scoring the next four points to close out the set.

After losing the second set soundly, Cal once again came out strongly in the third. Freshman Savannah Rennie’s kill gave the Bears a 10-6 lead, and Cal still led later 16-15. But USC scored the next five points in succession and went on to the victory.
‘
The Bears will return to action Friday at No. 25 Arizona.