After an epic win against the Huskies, the WSU volleyball program is on a little bit of a winning streak. The streak started at the Cougar Classic that WSU hosted in Pullman earlier in September, and the Cougs have continued to build that momentum. 

Last Sunday, WSU beat then-No. 6 Washington in Pullman for one of the biggest upsets in WSU volleyball history. The Cougs are looking to keep their offensive and defensive power plays going as they take on the USC Trojans.

WSU juniors Magda Jehlarova and Pia Timmer were named Pac-12 Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for their outstanding performance against Washington. 

Timmer currently has 162 kills on the season with a hitting percentage of .216. In her last set against the Huskies, Timmer had 31 kills and four aces with 39 points on the day. The junior had her best offensive performance of this season and her career against the Huskies. 

Jehlarova had 5.5 blocks in the match against Washington but has 32.5 on the season. Jehlarova played a huge part in the defensive attack against Washington to pull off the upset. She also has 99 kills on the season to add to her impressive defensive performances. 

Jehlarova is also seventh in program history for blocks. She is now tied with her coach Jen Greeny who had 59 career solo blocks during her time at WSU. 

Freshman outside hitter Katy Ryan also had an impressive offensive performance with 14 kills on the afternoon, which is her current career high.

Coming into this match, WSU has a record of 8-4 while USC is 5-6. USC did win their last match against California in four sets. 

Graduate outside hitter Brooke Botkin led USC in their last match with 14 kills and two blocks. Botkin also leads USC with 175 kills on the season so far. USC is a relatively old team with only five lowerclassmen on their roster. WSU, on the other hand, is a very young team with only one fifth-year on the roster.

In the last match for the Trojans, there were 52 kills with 30 errors. There were five aces in total and only 15 blocks. The team hitting percentage was .142. In WSU’s last match, the Cougs recorded 73 kills on 26 errors. There were also 17 blocks, 11 of which were performed by Jehlarova. The Cougs had eight aces and a team hitting percentage of .250.

The women will also take on UCLA on Sunday. UCLA is 9-1 on the season and ranked No. 15 in the country. The Bruins have two big hitters coming off the bench. Freshman outside/opposite hitter Charitie Luper had 18 kills in their match against Stanford on Sunday.

UCLA is also home to graduate student Mac May.  May has been one of the best players in the Pac-12 during her time at UCLA. Against Stanford, May had 12 kills and four blocks. May has been a consistent player for the Bruins since her freshman year in 2017. 

The match on Sunday should be another great match between UCLA and WSU. The two teams have a great history between the two programs and it looks like it should continue. 

The Cougs take on USC 7 p.m. on Friday in Bohler Gym. You can also watch it on the Pac-12 network. WSU will host UCLA 11 a.m. Sunday. It can also be followed on the WSU Athletic website.