Match Stats
- #24 USC defeats Colorado 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-21)
- USC improves to 15-8
- Colorado falls to 12-10
The USC Trojans snapped a two-match losing streak with a 3-0 win over Colorado, getting 13 kills out of freshman Khalia Lanier. Sophomore Alyse Ford also had 8 kills in the USC offensive attack.
Colorado was led by Gabby Simpson, who put up a 12-kill, 11-dig double double with an outstanding .647 hitting percentage.
Press Releases
USC:
LOS ANGELES — The No. 24-ranked USC women’s volleyball team (15-8, 7-5 Pac-12) defeated Colorado (12-10, 4-8) in straight sets (25-23, 25-22, 25-21) at Galen Center on Saturday, Oct. 29. The Women of Troy snapped a short two-match skid and stayed undefeated in all-time matches against the Buffaloes (14-0).
Freshman outside hitter Khalia Lanier tallied 13 kills (6e, 32att) and hit .219 in the match to go with seven digs and a pair of service aces. Sophomore outside hitter Alyse Ford had eight kills (3e, 21att, .238) and added an ace of her own to go with a solo block. On the other end of the net, junior opposite hitter Brittany Abercrombie recorded seven kills without an error (17att) to hit .412 in the match. Junior opposite hitter Niki Withers had six kills and added four blocks and three digs to her final line.
In the middle, senior middle blocker Elise Ruddins finished with four kills and four blocks (one solo) and junior middle blocker Jordan Dunn had three kills and three blocks. On defense, senior libero Taylor Whittingham led all players with 15 digs. The Trojans got 17 assists and six digs from junior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley. Senior setter Alice Pizzasegola had 15 assists and six digs.
For the Buffaloes, Gabby Simpson led the way with 12 kills (1e, 17att, .647) and logged a triple-double with 17 assists and 11 digs. Alexa Smith rang up 11 kills (6e, 26att, .192) to go with nine digs. Cierra Simpson tied her sister Gabby with 11 digs.
The Trojans led by as many as six points in the opening set, but Colorado trimmed the 21-15 deficit to a single point thanks to a 5-0 run. Dunn stopped the bleeding with her kill and the Trojans never let the Buffaloes any closer as Lanier’s kill closed out a 25-23 win. The Women of Troy hit .333 in the opening set (14k, 5e, 27att) but survived a hot Colorado attack that hit .370 (13k, 3e, 27att).
The Women of Troy never trailed in the second set and built a nine-point lead at 13-4, but the Buffaloes went on a small run to cut the lead to five at 15-10 and then to just two points at 22-20. Withers and Ruddins teamed up to block Smith on the next play and then Lanier serve an ace for set point at 24-20. The Buffaloes saved a pair, but Ford tooled the Colorado block to close out the 25-22 win.
USC never trailed in the final set, much the same as in the second frame. A 5-0 run by the Trojans that included two kills by Ford and one by Withers put a 10-4 lead on USC’s side of the scoreboard. The Buffaloes mounted a charge and erased all but a single point of the Trojans’ lead when Smith earned a kill at 17-16. A Ruddins kill and a second Lanier ace put the Trojans on top, 20-17, before Ruddins got up for the stuff block and a 21-17 USC lead. Withers’ crosscourt kill gave the Trojans set point at 24-21 before Dunn rejected Smith for a solo block to tie a ribbon on a 25-21 win and the 3-0 sweep.
The Trojans will play their next four matches on the road and will visit the desert for matchups at Arizona (Nov. 2) and Arizona State (Nov. 4) next week. The USC-Arizona match will be shown live at 7 p.m. PT on Pac-12 Los Angeles and Pac-12 Arizona. The USC-ASU match will be streamed live at Pac-12.com/live. The following week, the Trojans travel to the Bay Area (Nov. 10-12).
For more information on the USC women’s volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. To purchase season and single-match 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 improved to 14-0 and remained undefeated in all-time meetings with Colorado.
- The Trojans snapped a short two-match skid and completed the month of October with a 6-3 record.
- Freshman OH Khalia Lanier scored her 21st double-digit points match of the season (15.0).
- Senior libero Taylor Whittingham registered her 19th match this season in double digits for digs and crossed (15).
Colorado:
LOS ANGELES— Junior Gabby Simpsonrecorded her sixth triple-double of the season as Colorado lost a close three-set match (25-23, 25-22, 25-21) to No. 24 Southern California on Saturday night at Galen Center.
WHAT HAPPENED: Simpson led the Buffs with 12 kills and hit a match-best .647 with only one error on 17 attacks. She also handed out 17 assists and picked up 11 digs, another high for the Buffs, to round out her sixth triple-double of the season, which ties a CU single season record. (Elizabeth Gower also had six triple-doubles in 2000.)
Sophomore Alexa Smith was the only other Buff to reach double-digit kills, recording 11. Senior Cierra Simpson tied Gabby Simpson for a team-best 11 digs, while sophomore Naghede Abu had two blocks to lead CU.
With the loss, Colorado is now 12-10 overall, 4-8 in the Pac-12, while USC improved to 15-8, 7-5 in the Pac-12.
SET 1: The Buffs and Trojans were battling to start the match and had 10 ties before USC used a 3-0 run to go up 16-13. CU called a timeout and took the first point out of the break, but USC sided-out and went on to increase its lead to 21-15, forcing the Buffs to take another timeout. Out of the break, CU took the next four points, bringing the score within two (21-19). USC decided then to take a timeout of its own, but a USC attack error following the break brought the Buffs within a point (21-20). The Trojans took the next two points (23-20) and held off the Buffs attack as they finished the set 25-23.
SET 2: Southern California took a 13-4 lead to start the second set, but the Buffs did not give up and battled back. They started chipping away at the lead with a 5-1 run (14-9) and kept fighting. USC had a 17-11 advantage late in the set when CU scored four of five points to bring the score to 18-15. CU kept going and got the score within two points at 22-20. USC responded with two points (24-20), but the Buffs fought off the first two set points with a kill from Smith and a block by Abu before USC finished the set (25-22) with a kill.
SET 3: Colorado again fell behind to start the set, but just like in the second set, the Buffs fought their way back. USC had a 10-4 lead when CU called its first timeout. The Buffs rallied and recorded a 6-2 run to bring the score to 12-10 before USC used a 4-0 run to retake a six-point advantage. Again the Buffs had work to do, and that is what they did, bringing the score within a point at 18-17. At that point, USC responded with three straight points (21-17), and despite a good effort by CU, the Trojans finished the set 25-21.
TEAM STATISTICS: The Buffs hit .259 with 44 kills and 16 errors on 108 attacks, while USC hit .248 with 41 kills and 15 errors on 105 attacks. CU recorded 42 assists to USC’s 38. The two teams each recorded 43 digs but the Trojans had the edge in blocks (8.0-5.0).
NOTEABLE: The Buffs are now 12-10 overall, 4-8 in the Pac-12… Southern California has never lost to the Buffs – holding a 14-0 lead in the series… CU is 4-7 this season against ranked teams…Gabby Simpsonhas seven career triple-doubles, which is second in CU history behind Elizabeth Gower’s 10…Naghede Abu also hit well at .625 with five kills and no errors on eight attacks…Redshirt freshman Taylor Joachimrecorded a career-high three kills and did not commit a single error on 10 attacks to hit .300.
NEXT UP: Colorado heads back to Coors Events Center for a pair of matches. The Buffs will host Stanford on Friday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. and on Sunday, Nov. 6, CU will take on California at 12 p.m.
QUOTABLE:
Jesse Mahoney, head coach
“This was a tough loss to swallow given that we had chances in each set. It was a tight match statistically – we were efficient enough offensively to give ourselves an opportunity to win – but we allowed too many free points, especially on service errors at key times in the match.”
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