USC women's volleyball team plays two home games this week

The USC women's volleyball team will host two Pac-12 games on Friday and Sunday at the Galen Center on the USC campus. The Trojans play Colorado on Friday at 7 p.m. and Utah on Sunday at 1 p.m. USC is 9-4, Colorado is 10-2 and Utah is 8-5. USC is tied for fourth place in the Pac-12 with five other teams. Once again, the Pac-12 is one of the best volleyball conferences in the nation with several teams ranked in the top 25 nationally.

The Trojans have a solid team that came into last Saturday's game against Washington State on an emotional high after beating UCLA 3-1 at UCLA on September 22, in front of over 7,000 fans.

The great feeling lasted only two days because Washington State beat the Trojans 3-2 on Saturday afternoon. The lost ended USC's four game winning streak and it also upset the Trojan's head coach Brad Keller. "Our team was not ready to play today'" said Keller last Saturday. "Washington State did a nice job of keeping the pressure on us."

Keller is looking for the Trojans to improve in different areas. "We need to work on serving, passing and blocking. We need to work on our shot selection, and we need to get a lot more gritty."

One Trojan player that seems to always come ready to play is sophomore and team captain Mia Tuaniga. She is one of the best setters in the nation and she is the leader of the Lady Trojans. "I love playing this game and I love playing on this team," said Tuaniga after the Washington State game. "We have been working hard lately and it's a blessing to be here at USC and playing with this group."

According to Tuaniga pressure comes with playing college volleyball but when she serves the ball, she puts pressure on the other team. She throws the ball high in the air and when it comes down, she spikes the ball over the net with tremendous velocity. "I learned how to serve playing with my brothers and other family members."

If you want to see a good women's college volleyball game stop by the Galen Center on the USC campus. "We are looking for more fans to come out and support this team," said Keller. "This is s fantastic group of women. I really love this team and it's really cool playing at the Galen Center."