After an upset victory against No. 7 Arizona State over the weekend in the State Farm Showcase, No. 15 USC women’s volleyball rolled into Austin, Texas, with the belief that it could take on one of the best teams in the country.

While that belief held true through the first 15 points, No. 9 Texas (3-2) went on an 8-2 run after that to seal the first set; from there, the Longhorns never looked back, culminating in a sweep of USC (1-2). Outside of a few good rallies and standout performances from a couple of Trojan players, there were very few positive moments in the tough 25-16, 25-21, 25-20 loss.

With USC only playing one of the matches in the inaugural Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge Week, it will have to wait again until next year’s Challenge Week — or potentially the NCAA Tournament in December — to take on another SEC team.

First set struggles for first time

A close start to the match was a good sign for a Trojan squad in need of a reset after a four-set loss to No. 10 Creighton (2-1) on Saturday. The recipe was there for the team, sparked by two kills in the first 15 points from sophomore outside hitter Abigail Mullen, who ended the night with nine kills and two blocks.

However, Mullen’s last kill sparked something on the Texas sidelines; the Longhorns lit up the Trojans until the end of the set, outscoring USC 17-9 and winning the critical first set.

This marks the first time in the young season that USC has lost the opening set, one which tends to set the momentum for the rest of the match.

The effort was mounted by Longhorn sophomore outside hitter Cari Spears, daughter of former NFL defensive end Marcus Spears and former WNBA player Aiysha Spears. The 6-foot-3 prodigy totaled six kills in the first set on her way to a game-high 17 kills in the match, posing as a consistent threat to the Trojan defense. 

Spears had a massive .464 hitting percentage and added eight digs in a terrific performance from the sophomore.

Back-and-forth middle set 

The Trojans bounced back in the second set, knotting the score at 14 apiece before trading points back and forth with the Longhorns. Texas finally took back the lead to tie the set at 19, going on a 7-2 scoring run to win the set.

Longhorn senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford, a three-time AVCA All-American and two-time AVCA National Player of the Year semifinalist, notched two kills in the spree, continuing to cement herself as one of the best players in all of college volleyball.

Trojan star redshirt junior outside hitter London Wijay tried to stop the duo of Spears and Stafford, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Wijay once again thrived despite the loss, recording 11 kills, seven digs and two blocks on the day.

Wijay’s smaller stature at just 5-foot-10 has not posed an issue in her time with USC; this season is no different, as she leads the team in kills and ranks third in blocked shots. She continues to be a star on a struggling Trojan squad that has won just one of its last seven sets.

She recorded three kills in the second set, which was not enough, putting USC in a tough two-zero hole.

Early Trojan run falters late in final set

USC once again started strong and, in its best stretch of the night, recorded an 8-2 lead to start the third set. After struggling to find a consistent rhythm throughout the match, the Trojans finally found it in this set, but once again gave it up too soon.

Texas slowly mounted its comeback, culminating in an 8-0 run to secure victory. The final kill by Spears delivered the sweep for the Longhorns, swiftly ending a rough night for USC that it would like to forget. 

Even with Spears’s kill, it was Longhorn senior setter Ella Swindle who turned the tide for Texas. Swindle entered earlier in the series during the second set, but it was partway through the third set when she shut the game down. As part of the 8-0 run, Swindle recorded three blocks, swaying all the momentum back to the Longhorns and allowing them to take the contest. 

The Trojans will look to turn things around in their next match against the University of San Diego (2-1) this weekend. Even with two wins, the Toreros were swept by a top-25 team in No. 20 Baylor (4-0), which will give the Trojans confidence.

USC will take on San Diego on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego.

Despite a 16-point victory in the season opener against San Jose State University, it’s no secret No. 14 USC football wants to play a whole lot better going forward. 

Through three quarters at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, the Trojans (1-0) seemed unstoppable. They looked the part of a team destined for the College Football Playoff and capable of exceeding their external sky-high preseason expectations. 

But after building a 35-3 advantage by the fourth quarter, USC took its foot off the gas, especially on defense. With the backups on the field, the Trojans allowed touchdowns on three straight drives to make it a two-possession game. 

Head Coach Lincoln Riley stated his frustration with how the Trojans closed the game and believes the team did not finish up to its standards. 

“[A] bunch of guys got opportunities, and we had several that did not play the way that we anticipated,” Riley said in a postgame news conference Saturday. “There will be a lot to learn and grow from. We’re going to need the depth of this roster, and we challenged that in the fourth quarter, and it obviously didn’t respond the way we wanted.”

USC’s matchup against Fresno State University on Friday presents an excellent opportunity for the Trojans to put up a dominant effort from start to finish and prove last week’s fourth-quarter ambush by the Spartans (0-1) was a fluke. 

USC takes on Fresno State in Week 1

The Trojans have traditionally taken care of business against the Bulldogs, leading 4-1 in the series that spans back to 1992. In the last matchup in 2022, USC defeated Fresno State 45-17 in Riley’s first season. 

But much has changed since then. The Trojans left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, and Fresno State entered the remade Pac-12 earlier this year after competing in the Mountain West, where they boasted a recent track record of conference success. 

When the Bulldogs enter the Coliseum on Friday, the Trojans will face a team hungry to make some noise in the new-look Pac-12 after a 9-4 campaign in 2025. 

Junior quarterback Jayden Mandal is slated to make his first-ever regular-season start for the Bulldogs after missing the entirety of last season due to an elbow injury. Mandal’s top target will be senior wide receiver Josiah Freeman, an All-Mountain West Honorable Mention last season. 

In his Coliseum homecoming, coming off a 702-yard, six-touchdown 2025 campaign, the Trojans must contain South Central native and senior running back Rayshon Luke. Luke is also a viable force in the receiving game as a dangerous checkdown threat. 

Riley and his coaching staff must also outwit Fresno State Head Coach Matt Entz, a former USC defensive assistant coach in 2024, who will certainly be familiar with some of the Trojans’ defensive personnel. 

The Bulldogs’ gritty, relentless defense was their calling card last season, ranking sixth in the nation in turnovers forced per game and 10th best in yards allowed per game. They’ll likely pose a legitimate challenge for redshirt senior quarterback Jayden Maiava and the Trojans’ methodical, high-powered offense.

Riley preaches explosiveness, physicality ahead of Friday

For the first 45 minutes of USC’s season, the Trojans were firing on all cylinders. They were a force to be reckoned with, thoroughly outclassing an inferior opponent and getting anything and everything they wanted on both sides of the ball. 

The offense was efficient, on the ground and through the air. Defensive Coordinator Gary Patterson’s unit, in his first time throwing on a headset for the cardinal and gold, was aggressive, fundamentally sound and timely. 

But the sloppy final 15 minutes, in which the Spartans outscored USC 23-7, left a sour taste in the Trojans’ mouths after what had seemed to be a feel-good win and an encouraging coming-out party for this year’s freshman class.

After the game, Riley said he wants his team to hit some explosive plays in the run game and be more physical at the line of scrimmage on defense, two primary areas of focus in preparation for Fresno State. 

“It’s typically that first and second game when you make a lot of improvements,” Riley said. “You get that first chance to go play against someone, and it reveals a lot.”

Injury questions persist during short week

With Friday’s kickoff on the horizon, USC didn’t have much time to turn the page from its Week 0 tilt with the Spartans. The Trojans largely avoided injuries Saturday, resting most starters midway through the second half. 

However, USC entered its season opener with plenty of injury concerns, and many uncertainties about players’ statuses still linger heading into Week 1. 

Sophomore defensive tackle and reigning Freshman All-American Jakheem Stewart sat out after re-aggravating in the offseason the foot that gave him fits all of last year. The Trojans are being extra careful with the emerging star, but it’s possible Stewart could make his season debut Friday after being listed on the official depth chart.

While the Trojans will have to wait at least another week to see junior transfer wideout Terrell Anderson take the field, it remains unclear when sophomore wide receiver Tanook Hines may return to action. Maiava still has other capable threats on the outside, as seen last week in freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley’s breakout performance. 

Without two of the team’s most experienced and talented pass catchers, the new-look and injury-ridden receiving core was a question mark heading into the season opener. The group showed off their depth and delivered. With Hines’ impending return to the mix as early as this week, USC’s offense is looking more threatening each day.

Friday’s contest with the Bulldogs offers the Trojans not only a chance to improve to 2-0, but also to build roster-wide momentum and confidence as conference play quickly approaches. 

That quest begins at 6 p.m. as USC takes on Fresno State at the Coliseum for Week 1 of the college football season.

Less than two years after Texas ended USC’s 2024 season at the Gregory Gymnasium, women’s volleyball will return to Austin with an early opportunity to measure itself against one of the nation’s most established programs.

No. 15 USC (1-1) will face No. 9 Texas (2-2) on Wednesday as part of the inaugural Big Ten/SEC Volleyball Challenge. The matchup will also serve as the Longhorns’ home opener after beginning their season with four neutral-site matches.

The contest is part of a difficult opening stretch for both programs. USC’s first week included matches against No. 7 Arizona State (2-1) and No. 10 Creighton (2-1) before its trip to Austin.

During the State Farm Women’s Volleyball Showcase over the weekend, the Trojans took home a win against Arizona State in three sets, with redshirt junior outside hitter London Wijay leading all scorers with 14 kills on .343 hitting and five blocks, a career-high  for the returner.

Although USC showed a strong performance against Arizona State, it fell short to Creighton in four sets the following day. Wijay and sophomore opposite hitter Abigail Mullen both put up impressive numbers despite the loss, each recording 13 kills against the Bluejays.

Texas, on the other hand, entered the season ranked No. 2 in the AVCA preseason poll, with its early matchups including Arizona State, Marquette University (1-2), No. 18 TCU (1-1) and No. 1 Nebraska (2-0).

Despite its high ranking, Texas has already shown weakness. The Longhorns opened their season with a four-set loss to Arizona State, followed by another loss on Sunday against the top team in the country, Nebraska, in straight sets. The Longhorns’ gameplay was overshadowed by the Cornhuskers’ strong offense, recording 21 total errors and a shallow hitting percentage of .152 compared to Nebraska’s .293.

Returning players ready to power Trojan offense

USC has headed into the season looking to capitalize on its best campaign in several years. The Trojans went 25-7 in 2025, their highest win total since 2017, and finished tied for third in the Big Ten with a 15-5 conference record.

USC will lean on redshirt junior middle blocker Leah Ford and junior middle blocker Mia Tvrdy defensively. Ford and Tvrdy were the Trojans’ leaders in blocks per set last season and have continued the same success in 2026. During the Arizona State game, Tvrdy delivered the kill that sealed the game, while Ford totaled five blocks and three kills to allow for the dominant win. 

Texas stars present major challenge

Texas finished last season ranked in the top four nationally in assists, kills and hitting percentage per set. The Longhorns averaged 14.75 kills per set and hit .315 in 2025; so far this season, they’re averaging 12 kills per set and hitting .166, a sharp decline in performance from last season. This inconsistency creates an unpredictable challenge for USC’s blockers and back-row defenders.

Senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford and sophomore outside hitter Cari Spears headline the Texas attack, as both were named to the AVCA Player of the Year Preseason Watch List and the Preseason All-SEC Team.

Stafford led the Longhorns with 516 kills and 580.5 points in 2025, earning herself AVCA First-Team All-America honors, while Spears recorded 358 kills on .295 hitting during her freshman season, enough to be honored as an AVCA Third-Team All-American and Southwest Region Freshman of the Year.

The pair demonstrated their potential in Texas’ victory over Marquette earlier in the season. Stafford led both teams with 19 kills and hit .341, while Spears added 17 kills on a .371 hitting percentage. The Longhorns also logged 10 service aces and, in the decisive fifth set, hit .529.

However, Arizona State held Texas to a .065 hitting percentage in its season-opening loss, showing a weakness that the Trojans could exploit. USC’s ability to pressure the Longhorns from the service line as well as prevent Stafford and Spears from finding an offensive rhythm could determine whether the Trojans can challenge Texas on its home court.

Trojans look to reverse their curse

USC last visited Gregory Gymnasium in December 2024, when Texas eliminated the Trojans in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns swept USC 26-24, 25-20, 25-22 behind a decisive offensive advantage. Texas achieved 51 kills and hit .316, compared to USC’s 36 kills and .160 hitting percentage.

The rosters have changed significantly since that matchup, but Gregory Gymnasium remains a difficult environment for visiting programs. Texas entered the 2026 season with a 55-match home sellout streak dating back to 2022, a span in which the Longhorns have gone 47-8 on their home court.

For a USC program that has failed to advance beyond the NCAA Tournament’s second round in eight consecutive seasons, Wednesday’s match will provide an early indication of how closely the Trojans can compete with the country’s leading programs.

USC will go on the road to play Texas on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Gregory Gymnasium.