In the final month of last year's NCAA volleyball season, USC began to click. The Trojans breezed past a talented Oregon team on the road to take over sole possession of second place in the Pac-12 and should have had a relatively easy time two days later at Oregon State.
The match was going fine until -- "thud."
On a defensive play, All-American outside hitter Khalia Lanier collided with teammate Reni Meyer-Whalley, leaving them both with concussions. Another All-American, outside hitter Brooke Botkin, had sustained a concussion the previous day, leaving the Trojans short three starters heading into the most important stretch of the season. USC beat Oregon State but went 3-3 the rest of the way. It was deflating.
"It's so important to find your groove going into the [NCAA] tournament, but then we had those concussions, and it really kind of messed things up, which was unfortunate for us," Lanier said.
Despite holding on to its second-place spot in one of the nation's toughest volleyball conferences, USC was never able to return to form. The Trojans, a threat to reach the final four as the No. 11 overall seed, were eliminated in the second round by San Diego.
"We saw what we can do and got a taste of that. ... We just kind of want to tap into that, see how great we can be as a team," Lanier said.
The No. 14 Trojans' road to redemption begins Friday at Texas State (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+) before they travel to Austin on Sunday to play No. 4 Texas (2 p.m. ET, Longhorn Network).
For second-year USC coach Brent Crouch, the expectations couldn't be much higher.
"Our team has aspirations of the final four and a national championship," Crouch said. "I think we've got the chance of that if we can keep improving each week and stay healthy."
The Trojans are deeper and more talented this year, and they were picked to finish second in the conference behind defending national champion Stanford. They boast All-American-caliber players in sophomore setter Raquel Lazaro and Botkin. Plus, they have exciting newcomers in Madison Horin and Kalen Owes.
But the key to a deep run might be the play of the 6-foot-2 Lanier.
In her three years with USC, Lanier, the daughter of Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame inductee Bob Lanier, has been one of the best players in the country. She arrived after being named the 2016 Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year and has earned some form of All-America honor each year since.
Although the concussion caused her to miss time as a junior, she finished the year ranked fourth in the Pac-12 in both kills (457) and points (511) and third in service aces (38). Lanier has consistently played for national teams at different age groups and recently found herself training with a United States roster that featured some of the best players in the world.
"I think over the summer, training with the national team was super big for me individually," Lanier said. "When you're one of the youngest ones, it's hard to find and keep your confidence when you're in a gym of people who have been in three Olympics. But I really did learn so much from the girls. Playing with them was truly amazing, and then when I got back to USC, I was able to take some of those things back here."
Another concussion in June while training with Team USA removed Lanier from contention to be on the roster for the Pan-American Games earlier this month in Peru, but Crouch said Lanier is now as healthy as she has been the past two seasons.
Nearly 50 years since her father was the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft after a dominant college career at St. Bonaventure, Lanier is poised to carve out a professional career of her own. With professional options limited in the United States, she said she's eyeing potential opportunities in Europe.
"We saw what we can do and got a taste of that. ... We just kind of want to tap into that, see how great we can be as a team." Khalia Lanier
"Hopefully, I could, like, play somewhere like Italy or France or something like that," she said. "Some people go to Turkey or China or other places and get paid more, but it's just a whole different world."
Lanier would be a long shot to play for the United States at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, where the team will look to win its first Olympic gold medal, but she will aim to make an impact four years later, when the Olympics head to Paris.
"Whether that's being on the team, whether it's training with the girls who will be on the team, whatever," Lanier said. "The Olympics is definitely a big goal for whatever way I can impact USA Volleyball."
First she has her eyes on finishing with a memorable season for the Trojans.
"Obviously, everyone wants to win a national championship. Everyone wants to win their conference," Lanier said. "So winning the Pac-12 would be a huge deal, especially after coming in second [the past two seasons]. Finally being first for me, personally, would be really great."