USC Trojans Women's Volleyball

Origins and a tradition of titles

The modern USC programme took shape in 1976 under Chuck Erbe and announced itself immediately: AIAW national titles followed in 1976, 1977 and 1980, capped by the first perfect season recorded in women’s volleyball (38–0 in 1976). When the NCAA took over the championship in 1981, USC beat UCLA 3–2 at Pauley Pavilion to win the first NCAA title in the sport. Those early seasons set the competitive baseline at Troy.

More than two decades later, Mick Haley’s USC sides re‑established the team at the top of the women’s game. Back‑to‑back NCAA championships arrived in 2002 and 2003, with the 2003 group going 35–0 and spending every week at No. 1 in the coaches’ poll. The programme counts six national crowns across eras: three NCAA (1981, 2002, 2003) and three AIAW (1976, 1977, 1980).

Coaches, continuity and change

After Erbe’s dozen seasons, Lisa Love (1989–98) kept USC a tournament regular. Jerritt Elliott steered two interim seasons to national semi‑finals before Haley arrived (officially taking charge for 2001 after serving as USA head coach), leading 17 straight NCAA appearances through 2017. Brent Crouch had the reins in 2018–19; Brad Keller was appointed on 20 February 2020 and is in his seventh season in 2026. USC’s own almanacs and archive place all five in the programme’s coaching lineage.

Keller’s tenure has coincided with conference upheaval and tangible progress. USC returned to the NCAA tournament in 2022 and 2024, reached the second round again in 2025, and moved into the Big Ten without losing its footing. The 2025 side finished 25–7 overall and 15–5 in league play to tie for third, then swept Princeton in the NCAA first round before falling to Cal Poly in five in round two.

A new league, a bigger stage

USC and UCLA’s move into the Big Ten reshaped the autumn of 2024 on the West Coast, dropping two of Los Angeles’ flagship programmes into the nation’s most watched volleyball league just as broadcasters were expanding coverage. The Big Ten trumpeted a record 83 televised matches that season and listed USC among its BTN picks, reflecting the conference’s intent to make volleyball a prime‑time property.

With the step up came nights like 16 November 2025 at the Galen Center, when No. 1 Nebraska swept USC in front of 9,072—USC’s women’s volleyball attendance record and the arena’s first sell‑out for the sport. The loss snapped USC’s nine‑match win streak, yet the occasion underlined the programme’s drawing power now it hosts Big Ten bluebloods.

Institutionally, the Big Ten also formalised a postseason tournament. On 16 April 2026 the league announced the inaugural Big Ten Volleyball Tournament for 20–25 November at the new Fishers Event Center outside Indianapolis, with all matches on Big Ten Network and the champion taking the conference’s automatic NCAA berth.

2026: early markers and a demanding runway

USC revealed its full 2026 schedule on 28 May: a 10‑match non‑conference warm‑up that began at the State Farm Volleyball Showcase in Sioux Falls, plus a true 17‑match Big Ten round‑robin (one meeting with every opponent) and home conference dates starting 2 and 4 October against Michigan and Michigan State. The release also recapped 2025’s third‑place Big Ten finish and second‑round NCAA exit.

Keller’s group added transfer setter Lilli Etter from Boise State on 29 May, and three Trojans—setter Reese Messer, middle Mia Tvrdy and outside London Wijay—were named, on 17 February, to USA Volleyball’s Women’s National Team Collegiate Training in Colorado Springs. On 30 July, senior OH Adonia Faumuina and sophomore opposite Abigail Mullen were voted to the Big Ten’s 2026 preseason team, with USC picked seventh by the league’s head coaches.

On court, USC opened 2026 by sweeping No. 12 Arizona State 3–0 on 29 August at the Sanford Pentagon—Wijay leading with 14 kills and a career‑high five blocks—before a four‑set loss to No. 13 Creighton the next day despite 13 kills apiece from Wijay and Mullen. The first week closed on 2 September with a straight‑sets defeat at No. 9 Texas in the Big Ten/SEC Challenge Week; USC entered Austin ranked No. 15 and left 1–2, with a trip to San Diego scheduled for 6 September.

Galen Center and the matchday shape

USC plays at the Galen Center on Figueroa and Jefferson, a 10,258‑seat arena opened in 2006 with an attached 45,000‑square‑foot pavilion of practice courts. Doors open 60 minutes before first serve; the venue operates a clear‑bag policy and publishes game‑day guidance for volleyball fixtures.

A home night now feels like a television product as much as a college match. In 2024 the Big Ten set audience records for regular‑season broadcasts and placed multiple USC matches on BTN; in 2026, the Trojans’ September trip to Texas was carried on ESPN platforms and the Sioux Falls opener ran on FS1/BTN, mirroring the sport’s national carriage. That broadcast certainty, allied to the draw of visiting powers—witness Nebraska in 2025—has shifted USC crowds up a gear.

On the floor the format is standard NCAA: best‑of‑five sets, rally‑scoring to 25 (15 in the fifth), win by two, with video review where the host’s infrastructure allows and procedures set by the NCAA rules book. A typical match runs between 90 minutes and two hours depending on set length and pace.

Stylistically, last season’s numbers pointed to a programme comfortable leaning on its block—USC led the Big Ten in blocks per set late in October 2025—and the first 2026 weekend reinforced that spine: Tvrdy topped all players with six blocks against Creighton, and Leah Ford’s five and Tvrdy’s three led the Trojans’ block at Texas. Set‑piece serving has a bigger bite, too, with Etter’s aces central to runs in Sioux Falls.

Standing in the sport

By the numbers, USC remains in the top tier historically: six national crowns across NCAA and AIAW eras; 10 NCAA semi‑finals; and 41 NCAA tournament bids through 2025, now as a Big Ten member after decades in the Pac‑12. As of 2026 the programme is headed by Brad Keller and plays in a building sized for five‑figure nights—context that explains how a sold‑out Sunday against Nebraska in November 2025 could feel transformational even within such a decorated history.