Women’s Volleyball | December 03, 2024
LOS ANGELES – Six-time national champions, the USC women’s volleyball team (21-9) was awarded one of 33 at-large berths into the 2024 NCAA tournament and makes its 40th appearance in the national tourney. The sixth-seeded Trojans draw Western Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament champion UT Arlington (29-2) in a first-round match set for Thursday, Dec. 5, at 4 p.m. CT (2 p.m. PT), at Gregory Gymnasium in Austin, Texas.
2024 NCAA TOURNAMENT
First and Second Rounds
Gregory Gymnasium • Austin, Texas
MATCH #31 • Thursday, Dec. 5 • 4 p.m. CT (2 p.m. PT)
[6] No. 19 USC (21-9) vs. UT Arlington (29-2)
NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 3-0 (1.000)
LAST MEETING: W 3-0 (Aug. 31, 1996 • Boulder, Colo.)
STREAK: Won 3 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 3-0
TV/STREAM: ESPN+ (Lincoln Rose & Shelby Coppedge)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UTAMavs.com
FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)
- USC is led by fifth-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 84-56 (.600) as the Trojans’ head coach.
- The Trojans make their third consecutive NCAA tournament and earned the program’s 40th all-time berth in the national tourney.
- USC is 129-43 (.750) all-time in the postseason with an 83-36 (.697) record in the NCAA tournament. The Trojans are 34-5 all-time in first-round matches.
- The Women of Troy have appeared in all but four NCAA tournaments (1986, ’90, 2020-21, ’21) and are the owners of six national championships including three NCAA crowns (1981, 2002, ’03).
- USC is 32-8 in the Lone Star State with an 11-2 mark in Austin specifically.
- The Trojans are 41-9 against teams from the state of Texas, which includes a 3-0 mark against UT Arlington and a 5-5 record against the Longhorns.
- Sr. S Mia Tuaniga has started as the Trojans’ setter for each of the last three seasons and has 4,471 career assists to rank second in school history.
- Gr. OH Ally Batenhorst ranks ninth in the Big Ten for kills (3.87 kps) and is eighth in the league for points (4.56 pps).
- Redshirt Fr. MB Leah Ford leads USC (4th in the Big Ten) in hitting (.367) and ranks fifth in the league for blocks (1.35 bps).
- Sr. MB Tyrah Ariail is 14th in the Big Ten in blocks (1.15 bps).
- USC ranks third in the Big Ten (seventh in the NCAA) for blocks at 2.86 bps and has reached double-digit blocks in 19 matches this season.
LAST TIME OUT: USC concluded the regular season with a pair of wins on a 3-1 victory at Washington and a 3-0 sweep of Iowa at home on Senior Night. The two wins made the Trojans 7-3 in their last 10 with a 4-1 record over the last five matches heading into the postseason. Mia Tuaniga posted back-to-back double-doubles and moved closer to the school record for career assists—now just 40 from seizing the top mark in program history. Ally Batenhorst produced her 28th and 29th matches in double-digit points with back-to-back nights of 19 points or more as she led the offense with 17 kills against the Huskies and 16 against the Hawkeyes. Gala Trubint totaled 11 and 15 digs in the two matches for her 67th and 68th career matches in double digits. When the dust had settled, the Trojans finished the regular season in a tie for sixth place with Minnesota in the final Big Ten standings.
NCAA HISTORY LESSON: The Trojans are 129-43 (.750) in all-time postseason matches and have an 83-36 (.697) record in the NCAA tournament. USC has appeared in all but four NCAA tournaments (1986, ’90, 2020-21, ’21) and is the owner of six national championships including three NCAA crowns (1981, 2002, ’03). USC won the first-ever NCAA championship in 1981. The Women of Troy also captured three AIAW championships in 1976, ’77, and 1980.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: USC is 34-5 in NCAA first-round matches. The five times the Trojans have not advanced out of the first round were in 1983, ’87, ’88, ’89, and 2016.
TEXAS TREK: USC is 32-8 all-time in matches played in the state of Texas. The Trojans last played in the Lone Star State to open the 2023 season with matches against Houston, Rice, and Southern Mississippi. When facing teams from Texas schools, USC is 41-9 all-time, which includes a 3-0 mark against upcoming first-round foe UT Arlington and a 5-5 record against site host Texas. The Trojans are making their sixth trip to Texas for postseason competition where they are 12-3. USC won the 1976 AIAW in Austin with eight wins in the tournament and then won the 2003 NCAA crown with two wins in Dallas. In 2011, USC fell in the NCAA national semifinal in San Antonio, and then was eliminated in the Austin regional final of 2012. The Trojans also traveled to Texas for the first and second rounds in 2019 where they fell to top-seeded Baylor.
PAC LEADER: Each of the four former Pac-12 teams in the Big Ten were scheduled to face the other three twice; once at home and once on the road during the regular season. USC finished the year with a 5-1 mark against the other teams to stand atop the group of former Pac neighbors. Oregon was 4-2 and UCLA went 2-4 while Washington finished at 1-5.
B1G AND SMALL: Only three Big Ten teams hold winning records against the Trojans. Wisconsin has the best win percentage of the three with a 6-3 mark against USC. Illinois is 4-3 and Penn State is 3-2 against the Women of Troy.
TEXAS TWO-STEP: Five Trojans hail from the Lone Star State. Since All-American MB Lauren Williams (Houston) arrived in 2008, at least one USC player has come from Texas in every season but one (2016). This year, MB Tyrah Ariail and MB Leah Ford return to carry the Lone Star banner. Ariail is from Frisco and played at Lebanon Trail HS and Ford is from Keller, near Dallas. The two USC veterans are joined by graduate transfer OH Ally Batenhorst (Houston), freshman MB Favor Anyanwu (Rowlett), and freshman OH Jadyn Livings (Dallas). When USC visits Texas, it is 32-8 all-time, and 12-3 in postseason matches.
