Skylar Fields poised for run to become NCAA kills leader as USC opens NCAA play
Consider these numbers:
USC has 1,613 kills this season.
Skylar Fields has 586 of them.
Her next closest teammate, Tyrah Ariail, has 210.
Fields led the Pac-12 in kills with 66 more than Arizona State’s Marta Levinka.
For that matter, only Giula Cardona of Evansville (593) and Kayley Cassaday of Tulsa (592) have more kills. Evansville is done for the season, while Tulsa is in the NIVC and plays Kansas City on Thursday. It will be quite a race between Cassaday and Fields to become the 2023 NCAA kills leader.
USC (18-12), which finished alone in fifth in the Pac-12, opens NCAA Tournament play Friday against America East-champion UMBC in Pittsburgh. The winner most likely plays top-seeded Pitt, the ACC champion that plays MEAC-champion Coppin State, on Saturday.
The focus, then, for UMBC and, presumably Pitt, will be Fields. And not only is she used to that, the 6-foot-2 fifth-year senior outside hitter from Missouri City, Texas, is not afraid of the spotlight.
That was one reason why, after three seasons, she transferred from Texas to USC.
Fields was a Texas kid through and through. She was a prep All-American at Ridge Point High School southwest of Houston. She played for Houston Juniors on a team that included Pepperdine’s Isabel Zelaya, the West Coast Conference setter of the year; outside hitter Sanaa Dotson, who played at Oklahoma and LSU; LSU middle Anita Anwusi; libero Sabrina Sustala, who played at Texas A&M and TCU; outside Kennedy Prince, who played at Miami (FL); and McNeese libero Bailey Tillman.
“We had a pretty good team,” Fields said with a laugh.
Fields played right side as a freshman at Texas, and then for part of the next season, before moving to outside.
Fields acknowledged that as a freshman, she wasn’t going to get time at outside, not with Texas boasting Micaya White as a fifth-year senior and future national player of the year Logan Eggleston as a sophomore.
“I was willing to play anything, on the left or the right,” Fields said. “I don’t mind playing on either pin, so it was really cool that I was able to get that experience. I really did like that.”
She did, however, admit to liking the left side a bit better.
“I like playing defense from there more and I feel like it gives you more range to run different routes out of the back court. And playing on the left I feel like I have more range as a hitter.”
Fields, who this season leads the Pac-12 in kills per set (5.19) and averages 2.07 digs/set, has continually improved throughout her career.
As a freshman in 2019 at Texas, she made the VBM All-Freshman team after getting 246 kills. The next year, she was a VBM honorable mention with 327 kills. In 2021, she had 353 kills and hit .331 and made our fourth All-American team and was AVCA third-teamer.
So it was a pretty big surprise when she moved to Los Angeles.
“The real reason why I left is because I was trying to become a full-time volleyball player,” Fields said. “A six-rotation player. I wasn’t getting that opportunity there. I want to set myself up to be an Olympian, and you have to be a six-rotation player to step into that gym.
“I was really focusing on helping myself to try to take that next step and USC seemed to be a place that was really invested into who I am and what I want to be.”
She smiled.
“And for sure L.A. has a lot of things that a lot of place can’t offer, the entertainment side of things, the fashion, and I’m really interested in that,” she said with a laugh. “But that wasn’t my main reason for moving to L.A..”
It worked out pretty good last year. As her old school won the NCAA title, Fields was a VBM first-team All-American and so were former Texas teammates Eggleston and Asjia O’Neal, and also Zoe Fleck, who transferred in as Fields left.
USC finished 22-11 in 2022, beating High Point before losing to Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament. Fields had 598 kills (5.11/set), hit .319 and had 19 aces and 56 blocks, 10 solo, and averaged 1.91 digs.
“Skylar is an incredible young lady that embodies what it means to be a Trojan,” USC coach Brad Keller said. “Her drive, work ethic and charisma is unmatched.
“She has a bright future in our sport and I am grateful to have been a part of it.”
In each of the past couple of years Fields has had to sit out some matches.
“Since the COVID year I’ve had an ongoing lower-leg injury, so staying strong and staying healthy have been my main priorities,” Fields said.
But she’s even better this year, with those aforementioned 586 kills (5.19/set) while hitting .295 to go with 12 aces, 2.07 digs/set and 61 blocks, nine solo.
A new strong point? Making the most of tough sets.
“Out of system has become one of my strengths,” she said.
That’s not all. Fields also runs what USC calls the D.
“I love the D ball,” Fields said. “At first I was playing OH1 and now I’m back at OH2 and I’m able to run behind the setter while she’s setting front row and it’s been super nice. We have really good middles who can make them hold the block and their left side has to respect our middles, so that opens up a lane for me to go up and attack on the D. It’s really fun when I get to go fly and just put the ball away.”
She puts it away like few others in the college game. Only nine times this season has she had not had 20 kills. And in the last 15 matches she’s played for USC, all in the Pac-12, she has had fewer than 21 kills just once.
That includes a season-high 29 in a five-set loss at Washington State three weeks ago. Afer that, she missed back-to-back, four-set home losses to No. 2 Stanford and No. 6 Oregon, but then had 21 kills in a five-set loss to UCLA to end the regular season.
After beating Cal on November 17, USC was 18-9, 12-5 in the conference, and had been on a roll, winning four of five. Now, the Trojans are coming off three straight losses as the postseason begins.
“We’ve been preparing better for practice and matches and really focus on the little things. We’re also focusing on our side of the net. But I think it started in practice and has carried over to the matches,” Fields said. “We’re getting more and more comfortable doing things, so when we get to the game situations, it’s not new or shocking to us. It’s something we’ve already been through before.
“I also think our team finally understands what it takes to be mentally locked in, every single match, every single point. That’s something that’s really helped us, especially since we have a lot of really young players.”
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