LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Villanova women's volleyball finished its trip to the West Coast on Saturday night, falling to the No. 24 University of Southern California Trojans in straight sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-21) at the Cardinal & Gold Classic.

Junior libero Taryn Whittingham was named to the All-Tournament Team after totaling 45 digs and three service aces on the weekend.

"Our team played really hard. I'm proud of our effort and I thought our defensive kids played great," head coach Josh Steinbach said. "We have a lot of good things from the weekend that we can build on. I'm going to really like this team."

VU started the first set on a strong note, utilizing a 4-0 run to jump out to a 7-3 lead. But the Trojans rallied to take back the advantage and roared on to a 25-21 set victory.

The Women of Troy dominated the opening part of the second frame, maintaining a lead until the 'Cats tied the score at 15-15. But USC used a 9-3 run to capture the stanza and move to a 2-0 advantage.

Villanova held early leads in the third set, but the Trojans secured an advantage and did not relinquish it. Despite VU staving off four match points, USC completed the sweep with a 25-21 victory.

Riley Homer paced her squad with 11 kills, while Kiera Booth contributed five kills and a team-high three blocks. Whittingham put up 11 digs and an ace for the Wildcats, with senior Kathleen Johnson adding her first three kills of the year on a 1.000 hitting percentage.

NEXT UP: Villanova (1-2) returns eastward for its first home contests of 2022, hosting the Villanova Classic from Sept. 2-4. VU begins the weekend on Friday night against Lafayette before facing New Hampshire on Saturday and Fairfield on Sunday.