The Women Of Troy Defeat St. Mary's 3-0, Advance To Round Of 16
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Katie Fuller recorded 15 kills in her final game at the Galen Center. (Shotgun Spratling/Neon Tommy)
For the fifth time in seven years, USC will advance to the NCAA Championship Round of 16 in Texas set for Dec. 7. The Trojans will play the winner of the Wichita State (23-9) and 11th-seeded Kansas (26-6) match on Dec. 1. The winner of that match will play USC in the Austin Regional semifinal on Dec. 7 at the University of Texas. With one more victory, USC will secure the program’s eighth 30-win season.
Throughout all three matches today, one of SMC’s biggest competitors was, in fact, itself. The Gaels had trouble closing at the net, attacking on offense and communicating on the court. St. Mary’s fought to keep up with USC, but continued to fall short to USC’s powerhouses like freshman outside hitter Samantha Bricio who notched her 11th double-double of the year, and junior middle blocker Alexis Olgard who finished with 10 blocks total with six solo blocks, the most recorded since 2002.
“It was difficult to read the two at first, but we finally got the hang of it. I think we all just played well together,” Olgard said, in reference to a slow start in the first game. The Trojans quickly recovered and finished the first set flawlessly on the offense. USC came back even stronger in the serve-and-pass game in the next two sets to defeat the Gaels in a three-game victory.
Tonight’s game also marked the end of the seniors’ college volleyball careers on their home court in the Galen Center. Senior opposite hitter Katie Fuller ended her four years of home games tonight, leading with 15 kills and a .483 hitting rate.
“I think the seniors have done a really great job leading us. Hopefully they’ll keep leading us for the next couple matches,” said junior outside hitter Sara Shaw.
Though the Women of Troy have a national championship at stake, they also have the same finals for which every college student must prepare.
“A lot of us are going into finals, so it’s hard to stay focused,” said Fuller.
Head coach Mick Haley added, “We plan as if we’re going to win. We plan for our tests, our study time, our tutors…we just plan for the rest of the postseason as if we’re going to the Final Four.”
On a lighter note, Haley owes the team ice cream because of its consecutive three-set victories this week. “We’ve done something we haven’t done in the season. We won 3-0, 3-0 in a week, which means I have to buy them ice cream,” said Hayley.
Energized with the well-deserved treat, the Women of Troy will continue preparing for a national championship, as they head to Texas next week.
