WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE
PULLMAN, Wash. -- The No. 23 ranked Washington State Cougars (14-5, 5-4 Pac-12) upset the No. 14 ranked Trojans of USC (15-6, 7-3 Pac-12) Friday evening inside Bohler Gym.
Set scores for the match were: 25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 23-25, and 18-16 in favor of the Cougars.
Washington State jumped out to a lead over the Trojans to begin set number one with a 7-1 run to see the Cougars hold down a 9-4 advantage. The Cougs saw another 7-1 run midway through the opening set as
McKenna Woodford,
Penny Tusa, and
Jocelyn Urias fueled the WSU offensive attack. A pair of kills from Tusa sealed off the set one victory for the Cougars at 25-16 overall.
The home squad of Washington State continued to ride the momentum in this contest, with a 6-1 run to open set number two over USC. The Trojans of Southern California generated a 5-1 run of their own midway through the second round of action to eventually tie up the set at 13-13. USC ultimately totaled a 6-3 run to cap off set number two for the 25-21 victory, tying up the match at 1-1 overall.
The back-and-forth battle between these two programs continued into set three, as nine total ties occurred with the Cougars and Trojans being knotted up at 13-13 midway through the set. A 5-0 run from the Cougs fueled the home squad out ahead of USC after multiple Trojan errors, a Tusa kill, and an
Abby Phillips ace capped off the run. Washington State tallied yet another 5-0 run late in set three, and Woodford put away USC with a set-winning kill at 25-23, and gave WSU the 2-1 match lead also.
Set number four brought more of the same for the Cougars, jumping out to the early 6-1 lead over USC, with some help from kills by
Claire Martin, Tusa, and Woodford. The Trojans answered right back however with a 4-0 run of their own to close the gap on the WSU lead at 7-6 overall. Multiple lead changes followed as this contest continued on, until three straight points from the Cougars set the home squad up at 19-17 over the Trojans. USC continued to battle back as a 5-0 late run from Southern California proved to be the difference maker in the visitors winning set number four at 25-23.
The final set of this match featured runs from each program as the Cougs jumped out to a 3-1 lead. USC countered with a 7-1 run, sparked by a Trojan ace to claim the small advantage at 8-4. Washington State continued to fight late in the fifth and final set with four straight points coming from an
Ella Lajos, and Martin block, along with back-to-back kills from Woodford. USC reclaimed the lead at 16-15 after a kill, but it was the Cougars who would come out on top in this match, using a Trojan service error to propel themselves ahead with an
Alexis Dirige ace, followed by a match-winning
Jocelyn Urias kill to finish off USC, 18-16 in set five.
STAT OF THE MATCH
McKenna Woodford totaled 23 kills in this contest, a single-match career-high for the senior, as her previous high was 22, which she tied just last week against California on the road.
THE MOMENTS THAT MADE THE MATCH
NOTES
- Penny Tusa posted 14 kills in the match-up, along with Jocelyn Urias who finished in double-digit kills as well at 13.
- Ella Lajos helped anchor the defensive front, totaling a team-high six blocks.
- Ashley Brown facilitated the offensive attack with 52 assists overall, and added nine digs to her stat-line.
- Alexis Dirige recorded a team-high in digs as well with 22, and totaled one service ace.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Washington State returns to the court, Sunday, October 21 in a Pac-12 match-up against No. 20 UCLA inside Bohler Gym, with first serve scheduled for 12 p.m. PT.
