University Southern California Trojans
Men's Volleyball Hosts Loyola of Chicago
June 21, 1999 | Men's Volleyball
March 8, 1999
LOS ANGELES - The No. 10 USC men's volleyball team (14-8 overall, 7-7 NCAA, 6-6 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)--which has lost 6 of its last 7 matches after opening the 1999 season with a 6-1 record--will look to get back to its winning ways when it hosts No. 15 Loyola of Chicago (13-6, 6-5 in the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) on Tuesday (March 9) in a non-conference match in the USC North Gym at 7 p.m. and then travels to UC Santa Barbara (4-10, 3-10 MPSF) on Thursday (March 11) for a 7 p.m. MPSF match as third-year Trojan head coach Pat Powers seeks his 50th career win.
RANKINGS
USC is ranked 10th in the current USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll. Loyola of Chicago is 15th in the USA Today/AVCA Coaches poll and 10th in the Volleyball magazine poll. UC Santa Barbara is not ranked.
OPPONENTS
Loyola of Chicago is coming off 2 losses last weekend (at Ball State and Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne) after having won 5 in a row. USC won its only other meeting with the Ramblers, 3-1 in 1998. UC Santa Barbara has lost its last 5 matches, including a pair at Hawaii last weekend, and 7 of its last 8. USC holds a 39-30 edge in its series with the Gauchos.
LAST MATCHES
USC lost to the nation's top 2 teams at home last week, first 15-4, 16-14, 15-6 to No. 2 Pepperdine and then 9-15, 15-9, 15-8, 15-5 to No. 1 BYU. Brook Billings led USC in kills (20) against Pepperdine, while Omar Rawi had 13 kills and hit .545. Billings, Eli Fairfield and Craig Dennis shared match-high honors in kills versus BYU with 18 each. Rawi added 11 kills, 7 digs and 8 blocks, while brother Beau Rawi had 13 kills (hitting .429) and 6 blocks.
COACH PAT POWERS
Legendary Olympic gold medalist, collegiate All-American and pro beach star Pat Powers returned in 1997 to his alma mater--which he led to the 1980 NCAA title as a player--to become the USC mens volleyball head coach and help bring the Trojans back to national prominence. His 3-year career mark is 49-39. In 1997, his first season, Powers put USC back on track, with its first winning season since 1994 at 18-14. Last year, his Trojans went 17-17 and missed the MPSF Tournament by just one win. The 6-foot-5 Powers is regarded as one of the greatest players in international volleyball history. He was a member of the U.S. National Team for nine years (1978-86) and started at outside hitter on a squad that won Americas first-ever "Triple Crown": the 1984 Olympics, the 1985 World Cup and the 1986 World Championships.
DONALD SUXHO
Setter Donald Suxho, starting for his third season, is USC's veteran. He was named to the All-Tournament team at the 1999 UC Santa Barbara Collegiate Invitational. USC's ace (32) and dig (94) leader in 1999, he had 4 aces against San Diego State, UC Irvine, Pacific, UCLA and BYU and 18 digs versus Stanford and 16 versus UCLA. He was named MPSF Player of the Week (Week 4) with 13 blocks, 27 digs and 9 aces against UC Irvine, Pacific and Stanford. For the year he is averaging 16.3 assists per game. Now an All-American candidate, the 6-5 junior from Albania was an All-MPSF third teamer in 1998 while averaging 15.3 assists a game. He also led USC in digs (214), tied for the team lead in aces (27) and was third in blocks (103). He set a since-broken NCAA record for most assists in a match (129 versus Ohio State in 1997).
ELI FAIRFIELD
Another All-American candidate is 6-7 sophomore outside hitter Eli Fairfield, who was a Freshman All-American in 1998. This season, he is second on USC in kills (211) and aces (13). He led USC in kills (15) and blocks (5) at Cal Baptist. In a 3-match streak in early February, he had a match-high 33 kills with 6 blocks and 6 digs against UC Irvine, another match-best 16 kills while hitting .652 versus Pacific and a team-high 21 kills against Stanford. He had 13 kills against UCLA, then hit .444 and had a match-best 22 kills versus Loyola Marymount. He missed the Long Beach State match (flu). He had a match-best 23 kills at Pacific.
His 18 kills versus BYU tied for match-high honors. Last year, he was second on USC in kills (389) while starting all season, and also joined Suxho in topping Troy in aces (27), plus he was third in digs (149) and fourth in blocks (65). He played for the USA Volleyball Junior National team in the summer of 1998.
BROOK BILLINGS
Highly-regarded 6-5 freshman Brook Billings, who was the MVP of Volleyball magazines 1998 Fab 50 prep list, has earned a starting spot at outside hitter. He tops USC in kills (245) in 1999. In his first match as a Trojan, he posted a match-high 23 kills and added 6 digs against Alberta. A slight ankle sprain sidelined him for the Cal Baptist match and some of the UC Santa Barbara Collegiate Invitational. He then led USC in kills against UC San Diego (16) and San Diego State (17). In a 3-match stretch in early February, he had 28 kills against UC Irvine, 14 kills against Pacific and a team-high 19 versus Stanford (with 6 blocks). Against UCLA he led USC with 15 kills and then added 17 kills versus Loyola Marymount. He had a match-best 25 kills against Long Beach State, then added 17 at Stanford while hitting .538 and 16 at Pacific. He led USC in kills (20) versus Pepperdine and tied for match-high kill honors (18) against BYU. He played for the USA Volleyball Junior National team in the summer of 1998 after making the 1998 All-CIF Division II first team as a senior at San Marcos High in Santa Barbara, Calif.
TREVOR JULIAN
Trevor Julian, a 6-5 sophomore, returns as a starting outside hitter. He was named to the All-Tournament team at the 1999 UC Santa Barbara Collegiate Invitational, hitting .375 against Long Beach State in the finals. He had double figures in kills in 3 consecutive matches: 14 versus UC Irvine while hitting .400, 10 versus Pacific and 12 against Stanford while hitting .556. Against Long Beach State, he had 10 blocks along with 13 kills. He hit .538 at Stanford. Last year, he was third on the Trojans in kills (275), second in digs (172) and fifth in blocks (62).
MIDDLE BLOCKERS
USC sports a brother act at middle blocker with 6-5 siblings Omar and Beau Rawi. Junior Omar is starting at middle blocker for his second season. He leads USC in total blocks (70) in 1999. This year, he had 9 blocks against UC San Diego, then 8 blocks versus San Diego State and 9 blocks against UC Irvine (with 15 kills and 9 digs). He had 13 kills while hitting .545 against Pepperdine, then had 11 kills, 7 digs and 8 blocks versus BYU. Last year, he was second on USC in blocks (104) and fourth in kills (223) while hitting .299. Freshman Beau leads USC in 1999 with a .412 hitting percentage and is second in total blocks with 63. He started his first match against San Diego State and hit .538 with 9 kills (after hitting .667 with 9 kills versus UC San Diego). He hit .435 with 14 kills and 8 digs versus UC Irvine. He added 12 kills against Loyola Marymount. Against Long Beach State, he hit .545 with 15 kills and a team-high 12 blocks. He hit .429 at Stanford and had 14 kills at Pacific. Against BYU, he had 13 kills (hitting .429) and 6 blocks. Before Beau, the starter was 6-7 soph Tony Knopp, who saw limited action in 16 matches last spring. He hit .412 with 10 kills against Long Beach State in the finals of the UC Santa Barbara Collegiate Invitational. He added 8 kills and 8 blocks against UC Santa Cruz. At Pacific, he had 12 kills (hitting .529) and 7 blocks. Last year, he had 49 kills while hitting .324 along with 32 blocks. Beau or Tony are filling the spot vacated by 4-year starter Szilard Kovacs, who All-American honorable mention and All-MPSF third team notice in 1998 while hitting .368 and leading Troy in kills (396) and blocks (150).
NOTES
With the emergence of Brook Billings, 2 co-starters from 1998--6-3 sophomores Ryan Thurlow and Craig Dennis--now provide USC with experienced depth coming off the bench. Last year, Thurlow posted 181 kills and Dennis added 180. Dennis had a match-high 10 kills against UC Santa Cruz and a career-high 25 kills against Long Beach State in 1999. Against UCLA, he came off the bench and had 11 kills. He started for a sick Eli Fairfield against Long Beach State and had 19 kills. Against BYU, he tied for match-high kill honors (18)...Here's a rarity in the world of men's athletics. One of USC's assistant coaches is a woman, Laura Ames, who was the women's head coach at both Aurora (1993-95) and Benedictine (1996-97)...USC's 3-year drought from post-season action (1996-98) is the longest in its history.
