Prior to the Saturday evening Women of Troy match versus #11 BYU, there was a reception in the Galen Center Founder's Room. Head Coach Mick Haley spoke about the team and their upcoming opponent.
Let the match begin. Here is A VIDEO OF THE STARTING LINEUP that was different from last night's lineup.
Our women defeated BYU in three sets 25-23, 25-22 and 25-22.
Senior Samantha Bricio was named the MVP of the 2015 Women of Troy Baden Invitational. Teammates Alicia Ogoms and Brittany Abercrombie joined Samantha on the All-Tournament Team. Congratulations Samantha, Alicia and Brittany!
Here is a picture of the victors!
Congratulations and FIGHT ON, Women of Troy Volleyball!
In the first match of the season, our Women of Troy started the season ranked #22, while their opponent, North Carolina, was higher ranked at #7.
During the first set, my friend Sam Chow told me that he saw a Freshman men's basketball player sitting in the stands. Sam and I walked over to meet him. Trojan Candy went right up, introduced myself, gave him my card, took his picture and promptly interviewed him. Chimezie Metu told me that he is originally from Nigeria, and he lives in Lawndale. At first he played soccer, then he changed to basketball when he was in the sixth grade. Chimezie plans to major in Law, History, Culture. When asked what his favorite food is, Chimezie says that he eats anything. His favorite music is Hip-Hop. Chimezie said that his favorite movie is "Pursuit of Happiness" starring Will Smith. My final interview question for Chimezie was, "Why did you choose USC?" He said there are three reasons. "The academics at USC, the basketball program is going in the right direction and he could play as a Freshman." Trojan Candy is sure glad that Chimezie is a Trojan! FIGHT ON, Chimezie!
Right after I finished my interview with Chimezie, a good friend walked down the steps. Strahinja Gavrilovic (11/16/2012), a Senior Forward on the basketball team, smiled for this picture. Luis, as Strahihja calls himself, told me that he took classes during the summer and then traveled with the team on a tour of Italy. The tour started on August 12th and ended on August 22nd . The team went 4-0 on their tour. Luis told me he can't wait for basketball season to start. Me Too! Fight On, Luis!
Just after I visited with Luis, Trojan Candy saw another basketball friend. Junior Forward Nikola Jovanovic (3/26/2014) and his friend Eddie Roche posed for this picture. Nik said that he was able to go home to Belgrade Serbia to visit his parents during the summer tour. When I asked him about the Italy basketball tour. Nik said that he has been to Italy twenty times! FIGHT ON, Nik!
Just when Sam and I decided to walk back to our seats, another friend came to sit down with the team. I asked Jordan McLaughlin (5/26/2015) if he had read his interview in my blog. He told me that he had read it. About the Italy tour, Jordan said that it was his first trip out of the United States. FIGHT ON, Jordan!
When we returned to our seats, our women had split the first two sets. We won the first set 25-20 while North Carolina won the second set 23-25.
During the third set, Sam saw another men's basketball player sit with his teammates. Sam said that it was Freshman Bennie Boatwright. We walked up and over this time to where the basketball team sat. Trojan Candy, as I did with Chimezie, walked right up to where Bennie was sitting. Nik saw me come back, so I told him that I wanted to interview Bennie. Right then, Nik called out to Bennie and told him that I wanted to interview him. Thanks, Nik! I gave Bennie my card, took his picture and started asking questions. Bennie, a Freshman from Mission Hills, Ca, is undecided in his major. His favorite food is his mom's enchiladas. As for music, Bennie likes Rap and Hip Hop. His favorite artist is Drake. Bennie's favorite movie is "Rush Hour." About what he does for fun, Bennie said that he likes to play the video game NBA-2K and to hang out with his friends. My final question was why he chose USC. Bennie said, "Basketball here is a 'building program,' USC's academics speaks for itself and he wanted to stay close to home." Trojan Candy is so glad that he chose USC and FIGHT ON, Bennie!
Back at our seats now, Sam and I saw our women win the third set 25-18 and the fourth set easily, 25-11!
Check out THIS VIDEO of their victory celebration.
FIGHT ON, Women of Troy Volleyball!