USC’s women’s volleyball team snapped out of its slump in convincing fashion Saturday, sweeping Rutgers 25-23, 25-16, 25-13 at Jersey Mike’s Arena to end a four-match losing streak.
The Trojans leaned on a sharp night at the net and a balanced attack to improve to 10-14 overall and 4-10 in Big Ten play. USC hit .351 for the match, piling up 42 kills against just nine errors, while Rutgers finished at .133 with 33 kills and 19 errors. The Trojans also controlled the other major categories, finishing with more assists, aces, digs and blocks.
Mia Tvrdy was the headliner. The junior middle blocker matched her season high with 13 kills and did it on a career-best .733 hitting clip, going errorless on 15 swings. She also led USC with six blocks, including one solo stop, and continued a strong run of production with her eighth match of double-digit kills and 13th of double-digit points.
USC got plenty of help around her. London Wijay finished with eight kills, eight digs, three blocks and an ace for her 18th double-digit points match.
Adonia Faumuina added eight kills, while Abigail Mullen chipped in 9.5 points on seven kills, seven digs, three blocks, three assists and a service ace. Leah Ford was efficient too, putting down six kills without an error and adding five blocks.
Freshman setter Milly McGee ran the offense with 30 assists and also contributed four blocks, three digs, two kills and an ace. Taylor Deckert led all players with 14 digs.
Rutgers was led by Malia Romes, who had eight kills and two blocks. Skylar George added seven kills and four digs, while Karis Willow and Avery Jesewitz each finished with six kills. Kenzie Dyrstad led the Scarlet Knights with 11 digs, and Lily Bolen posted 17 assists, seven digs and a kill.
The opening set was the closest of the afternoon, and USC had to claw through a few Rutgers pushes before pulling it out 25-23. The Trojans hit .300 in the frame, with Tvrdy and Wijay each collecting four kills.
Rutgers led by as many as three points multiple times, but USC answered with a 3-0 run to move ahead 18-16 and never gave the lead back. The Trojans also stacked up five blocks in the set and held Rutgers to .125 hitting.
Set two tilted USC’s way early in a 25-16 win. Rutgers jumped ahead 4-1 and stayed in front until the Trojans ripped off a 5-1 run to take control for good.
USC hit .375 in the frame and again made life difficult at the net, adding four more blocks while limiting Rutgers to .133 hitting. Tvrdy added four more kills in the set, and Mullen contributed three as USC kept the pressure on.
Tvrdy’s fourth kill of the set stretched the lead to 20-14, and Ford finished the set with a kill and a block.
By the third set, USC had full command. The Trojans never trailed on the way to a 25-13 clincher, hitting .375 again with 14 kills and only two errors.
Rutgers managed just 10 kills in the frame, and USC’s serving turned the screws even tighter with four aces. Faumuina, Wijay and Tvrdy each had three kills in the final set as the Trojans finished off the sweep.
USC returns home for its final two regular-season matches at Galen Center, hosting Oregon on Thursday, Nov. 12, and Washington on Saturday, Nov. 14, for Senior Night. The match against Oregon will be shown on a Big Ten Plus stream at 6 p.m. PT, while the Washington match will air on Big Ten Network at 7 p.m.
The sweep gave USC its seventh clean win of the season and marked the program’s third victory in three all-time meetings with Rutgers. The Trojans are now 2-0 in New Jersey and have reached double-digit blocks 11 times this season.
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