Box Score Los Angeles – Villanova (7-2) suffered its second loss of the season to No. 20 USC (5-3) in straight sets to close out the Trojan Invitational Saturday night.
Villanova got off to a hot start in the first set and held a lead for a good portion of the set. USC fought back to take their first lead at 15-14 and turned the whole match on its heels. USC went on to win the first set 25-19.
After the Trojans found their stride, they were hard to stop. USC won the second set 25-15 and the third set 25-14.
"USC played a great match," said head coach
Josh Steinbach. "They're an elite program and showed it tonight. We learned tonight that if we want to be that, we have a long way to go."
The effort was certainly there from the Wildcats throughout the night, with no better evidence than L.A. native
Regan Lough, who during the second set found herself flipped upside down over the first row of chairs as she chased down an errant pass. She managed to keep that ball alive, but USC was able to ultimately win that point.
Villanova was led by Sanaä Barnes with 9 kills and
Mallory Potts with 8.
Emma Decker once again was the assists leader with 26 and Lough finished with 11 digs while
Sarah Allman contributed 11.
USC hit .379 on the night, the highest allowed yet this year by Villanova, and the first time the Wildcats have been outhit. Serve reception also proved to be a challenge during the match for Villanova, who allowed USC to rack up 10 aces.
Following the 2-1, second-place performance in the Trojan Invitational, Sanaä Barnes and
Mallory Potts were each named to the all-tournament team. Barnes had 31 kills across the three matches, and Potts had 29. This is Pott's second all-tournament nod after being selected to the Bryant Invitaional all-tournament team.
After nine straight road matches to start the season, Villanova finally returns home for the home opener scheduled for Thursday Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. against Temple. That match will be played as part of the Villanova Classic.
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