University Southern California Trojans
Women's Volleyball Cruises in NCAA Opener
June 21, 1999 | Women's Volleyball
December 4, 1998
LOS ANGELES - The USC women's volleyball team, led by senior outside hitter Jennifer Kessy's 17 kills, defeated Maryland-Baltimore County, 15-3, 15-5, 15-10, in a first-round NCAA Tournament match in front of 633 at the Lyon Center on Friday night.
The Women of Troy improved to 23-5 while the Retrievers finished the season at 22-7.
In addition to Kessy's performance, USC got 13 kills and four blocks from senior middle blocker Jasmina Marinkovic and 15 digs from sophomore outside hitter Antoinette Polk. Junior setter Janice Mounts added 31 assists in two games and senior outside hitter Sara Stephen added 11 digs.
UMBC, making its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, was led by sophomore middle blocker Joanne Marshall's 11 kills and nine digs and also got seven kills and six digs from senior outside hitter Lisa Cline.
USC outhit UMBC, .315 to .073, and outblocked the Retrievers, 8 to 4.
The Women of Troy, making its 16th NCAA appearance overall, trailed 3-2 in the first game before rattling off 13 consecutive points for the win. USC went up 10-1 in the second game and cruised from there to a 2-0 lead. The Women of Troy went up big in the third game at 10-2, but the Retrievers responded with an 8-3 run to get to within 13-10. USC, however, used a service ace from sophomore outside hitter Janae Henry and a block from Marinkovic to close out the match.
The Women of Troy will face Texas A&M in a second-round match on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Lyon Center. The Aggies defeated Temple, 3-1, in the other first-round match played at USC on Friday night.
