LOS ANGELES — The Ohio State women’s volleyball team earned its first-ever win at the Galen Center on Friday night, Oct. 16, outlasting USC in five sets, 25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-11, to open its West Coast trip with a Big Ten victory.
The Buckeyes improved to 10-7 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play, while USC, which was receiving votes in the national rankings, fell to 8-9 and 2-5 in the conference. Ohio State controlled most of the team statistics, outhitting the Trojans .242 to .178 and piling up a 73-54 advantage in kills.
Naomy Govou led the way with a match-high 25 kills and 10 digs for a double-double. Aneta Valentová and Hannah Jones added 12 kills apiece, with Valentová also leading Ohio State with five blocks, and Kalli Joishvili-Ravva finished with 11 kills and 14 digs. Setter Bailey Nakanelua ran the offense with 54 assists to go with 16 digs, four kills and a service ace.
Ohio State set the tone early, using a pair of 4-0 runs in the first set to pull away for a 25-17 win. USC answered in the second, closing on a 6-3 run after the score was tied at 19 to take the set 25-22 and even the match, but the Buckeyes reclaimed the lead in the third, surviving an 8-0 Trojan run in the middle of the set to win it 25-21.
The fourth set was the tightest of the night. USC edged it 26-24 to force a deciding fifth set, setting up a finish in which the Buckeyes’ balance told. With Govou, Valentová, Jones and Joishvili-Ravva all in double figures in kills, Ohio State had more options late, and it closed out the match 15-11 in the fifth.
For USC, London Wijay totaled a season-high 20 kills with eight digs and four blocks, Abigail Mullen added 15 kills, and freshman setter Milly McGee recorded her first career double-double with 37 assists and 11 digs. The Trojans actually out-blocked Ohio State 14-9 but could not match the Buckeyes’ attacking depth over five sets.
The win carries weight beyond one night in Los Angeles. A road victory over a fellow Big Ten program that was receiving national votes strengthens Ohio State’s position in a crowded middle of the conference standings, and doing it in a building where the program had never won gives the Buckeyes a milestone to build on. Ohio State closes its West Coast trip on Sunday, Oct. 18, against UCLA at Pauley Pavilion before returning home.