The USC women’s volleyball team fell in five sets against the University of San Diego in their final preseason match before the Pac-12 conference game on Friday. The Trojans fought for a
Tied in the fifth set, but couldn’t finish the game and ended 3-2 in favor of the toreros (25-22, 20-25, 13-25, 25-19, 15-13).
USC is now entering the Pac-12 game with a record of 4-5.
The Trojans ran most of the first sentence. However, forced and casual mistakes allowed the toreros to take the lead and eventually the set. USC then regrouped and focused on the game again, increasing their defensive and offensive presence. With a hit percentage of 0.250 for the second set and 0.424 for the third set, San Diego couldn’t respond, and both sets went to the Trojans.
In the fourth set, USC wavered for a few moments, which the toreros capitalized on. With trouble at the Trojans offensive end, San Diego won the set and the game went to a tie-break.
Then the race for the last point began, because both teams left everything on the pitch. With momentum on their side, San Diego built a head start on USC; but with big swings from middle blocker Candice Denny and Junior against hitter Emilia Weske, the Trojans stayed in the game. Despite their best efforts, the toreros managed to break away in the last few points and finish the set with a score of 15-13.
“The fifth set will always be a ‘crapshoot’,” said head coach Brad Keller in a press conference after the game. “It’s not a real game; at this point it’s a race … we’ve dug a four-point hole … you’re really in a tight spot. “
Despite the outcome of the game, Denny hopes the Trojans will face the toreros again in the future.
“At the end, [San Diego] just over but I’m happy how close we were. I know the next time we see them on the pitch it probably won’t be that tight and it will be in our favor, ”Denny said. “Tonight I can honestly say that we finally fit together as a team. So, I think from that point on we’re going to start putting pressure on people; We won’t give up. “
After the USC’s defeat by San Diego, nothing lies between the Trojans and the Pac-12 conference. With heavy hitter programs like No. 16 Stanford and No. 13 Oregon on her schedule, however, Keller plans to take things one step at a time.
“We just take it day in, day out,” said Keller. “We dismantle films, look at certain things, develop exercises and conversations, and build them up brick by brick. That is exactly what we have to do. “
The Trojans now have Crosstown rivals UCLA next on September 22nd at the Pauley Pavilion. Keller emphasized that improvements were needed before they were back on the field.
“It will always be about little, little things. Every single player on this team has their own laundry list of things to work on that will help them get better places on the pitch, ”he said. “Now do I expect everyone to be perfect at it after a week or so? No, it’s a process, that’s why we’re working on it. But I think we’ve improved in many of these areas from Hawaii to this day, so I expect that we will keep improving in these things. ”
The Trojans start their Pac-12 prelude against UCLA at 7 p.m. on Wednesday
