The USC women's volleyball team is coached by first-year head coach Brad Keller, who was named to the position on February 20, 2020. Under the last coach, Mick Haley, USC became the first repeat NCAA Volleyball National Champion to go undefeated, as they finished off 2003 with a record of 35–0 while becoming the first school in NCAA history to stay at number one in the coaches poll every week.

History

The program began in 1976. The first coach, Chuck Erbe, led the team to four national championships, 1 NCAA (1981) and three

AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

(1976–77, 1980). Women's volleyball also has 10 final four appearances (1981, 1982, 1985, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011), finishing as the National runner-up in 1982. More recently, USC sent three female volleyball athletes to the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

– 2004 graduate

Nicole Davis Nicole Marie Davis (born April 24, 1982) is a retired American indoor volleyball player and mindset coach at Compete To Create, founded by Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and high performance psychologist, Michael Gervais. Nicole last ...

represented the indoor United States team, earning a silver medal. 2008 graduate Asia Kaczor represented her native

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

for indoor play, while 2006 alum

Bibiana Candelas Bibiana Candelas Ramírez (born December 2, 1983 in Torreon, Coahuila) is a 6'5" (195 cm) female beach volleyball and indoor volleyball player who represented her native country, Mexico, at the 2008 Olympics with her beach partner, Mayra G ...

teamed up with

Mayra García Mayra Aide García Lopez (born May 16, 1972 in Tecate, Baja California) is a beach volleyball player from Mexico, who won the silver medal in the women's beach team competition at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republi ...

in beach volleyball, representing her native country, Mexico.

Year by year highlights

1981

1981 was the first year the NCAA started sponsoring women's volleyball. USC, with a 26–10 record, defeated favored

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The men ...

to win the first NCAA volleyball championship in NCAA history.

2002–04

USC won the program's second NCAA championship by defeating No. 2 and defending national champion

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

3–1. Keao Burdine was named the Most Outstanding Player. In 2003, USC repeated as national champions. With a 35–0 record, the Women of Troy became the first repeat champion to go undefeated. USC defeated

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

3–1 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

. In 2004, USC made its third consecutive final four, by upsetting No. 1

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

in the regional final. In the national semifinals, the Women of Troy lost to No. 4 seeded

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, the eventual national runners-up. USC is the only school in the history of the AVCA Showcase tournament to win back-to-back AVCA Showcase titles, as the Women of Troy won in 2003 by defeating

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and 2004 by defeating

2007

USC made its first final four since 2004, upsetting fourth-seeded

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in the regional final. In the national semifinal, the Women of Troy nearly defeated top-seeded and eventual national runner-up Stanford, even having match point, but ended up losing the fifth set in extra points, 16–14. During the regular season, USC had beaten the Cardinal once.

2010

Starting the season ranked tenth nationally, the Women of Troy compiled a 25–4 regular-season record, the eighth 25-win season in coach Haley's 10-year tenure. Notably, in the regular season USC recorded a sweep of crosstown rival UCLA in conference play, including a 3–2 margin in the last match before postseason play, avenging losses in both 2009 matches. The Women of Troy dropped just one set through the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament before facing Stanford in the quarterfinal. Though the Cardinal had defeated USC in both regular-season matches, the Women of Troy edged Stanford in a five-setter, led by

Falyn Fonoimoana Falyn Talei Fonoimoana (born March 3, 1992) is an American professional indoor and beach volleyball player who plays as an opposite hitting for indoor professional league Athletes Unlimited. She has also represented the U.S. National Team in the ...

's season-high 25 kills. It was USC's first win against Stanford in seven tries dating to 2007. Despite having won both regular season matches against Cal, the Women of Troy hit a season low .107 as a team—including a negative hitting percentage in the first set—and were swept, 3–0, in the semifinal. USC finished 29–5 on the season.

Venues

The North Gym, located in the USC Physical Education Building, was the team's home court from 1976 until 1988. From 1989 to 2006, the North Gym and the

Lyon Center The Lyon Center or Lyon Recreation Center is a student recreational facility and part-time varsity athletics facility located on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The Lyon Center's full name is the General William ...

split time as the team's home court. In 2007, the team moved to the

Galen Center The Galen Center is a multipurpose indoor arena and athletic facility owned and operated by the University of Southern California. Located at the southeast corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Figueroa Street in the Exposition Park (Los Angeles), Exp ...

as its home court, but uses the old venues if the Galen Center is reserved for other events.

Notable players

–

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

beach volleyball Olympian *

–

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

indoor volleyball Olympian *

– professional indoor and beach volleyball player *

Debbie Green-Vargas Debbie Green-Vargas (born June 25, 1958) is a former American volleyball player and coach. She is regarded as the greatest American women's volleyball setter of all time. Green-Vargas was a member of the U.S. National Team and won the silver med ...

, –

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

indoor volleyball Olympian, highly regarded as the greatest women's volleyball setter in USA volleyball history.2003 inductees for USC Athletic Hall of Fame
/ref> * Joanna Kaczor –

indoor volleyball Olympian *

Jennifer Kessy Jennifer "Jen" Anne Kessy (born July 31, 1977) is a retired American professional beach volleyball player on the AVP Tour. She currently is the coach of April Ross and Alix Klineman. Early years Growing up in Southern California, Kessy excelle ...

–

Olympic silver medalist in beach volleyball * Khalia Lanier – Professional volleyball player *

Cindy Marina Cindy Marina (born July 18, 1998) is an Albanian-American model, television presenter, volleyball player, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Albania 2019. She represented Albania in the Miss Universe 2019 competition, pl ...

– Miss Universe Albania 2019 and member of the Albania women's national volleyball team *

April Ross April Elizabeth Ross (born June 20, 1982) is an American beach volleyball player and three-time Olympic medalist. She won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Jennifer Kessy, a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics with Kerri Walsh ...

–

Olympic silver medalist in beach volleyball,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Olympic bronze medalist in beach volleyball

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Olympic gold medalist in beach volleyball * Geena Urango – Professional beach volleyball player *

Paula Weishoff Paula Jo Weishoff (born May 1, 1962 in Hollywood, California) is a retired female volleyball player from the United States, who won two medals with the USA National Women's Team at the Summer Olympics: 1984 (silver) and 1992 (bronze). And form ...

–

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, and

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

indoor volleyball Olympian * Susan Woodstra –

indoor volleyball Olympian, assistant coach for the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:USC Trojans women's volleyball