University Southern California Trojans
USC Men's Volleyball Hopes To Rebound
February 06, 2001 | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 6, 2001
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THE FACTS
The No. 8-ranked USC men's volleyball team (5-4 overall, 3-2 NCAA, 3-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Pacific Division) will try to snap its 2-match losing skid when it travels to No. 2 UCLA (5-3, 1-1) for a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match this Wednesday (Feb. 7) at 7 p.m. The Trojans then host No. 6 UC Santa Barbara (4-2, 2-2) on Saturday (Feb. 10) at 7 p.m. in the North Gym.
RANKINGS
USC is ranked eighth in this week's USA Today/AVCA coaches poll and by Volleyball. UCLA is second and fourth, respectively. UC Santa Barbara is sixth and seventh, respectively.
OPPONENTS
USC trails in its series with UCLA, 69-29. But Troy beat the No. 1 Bruins in the last meeting, 3-2, last season in Pauley Pavilion, that not only bork the Trojans' 13-match losing streak to their crosstown rival, but it was USC's first regulation-match win over the Bruins since 1991, its first victory in Pauley Pavilion since 1990 and its first win in the Kilgour Cup after 7 losses. UCLA is coming off a weekend win at Pepperdine that gave coach Al Scates his 1,000th victory. The Bruins are led by Matt Komer (93 kills, 20 aces, 23 blocks), Cameron Mount (93 kills) and Adam Naeve (80 kills, 23 aces, 37 blocks). USC holds a 41-30 edge in the series with UC Santa Barbara and has won the last 3 matches. UCSB, which split its matches last week at Hawaii, features Andy Rivera (67 kills, 38 digs, 21 blocks) and Ben Koski (64 kills, 11 aces) and Dave Kohl (61 kills).
LAST MATCH
USC had its school-record 19-match home winning streak snapped as No. 8 BYU posted a 30-24, 30-20, 30-19 win in an MPSF match on Wednesday (Jan. 31). BYU hit an astonishing .655 and had only 4 hitting errors in 58 attacks, while USC managed to hit only .149. The Cougars also outblocked Troy, 15.5 to 1.0. A trio of Trojans?Eli Fairfield, Brook Billings and Beau Rawi?had 9 kills apiece, while Trevor Julian served a match-high 3 aces. BYU decisively outhit USC in each game, going .571 to .111 in the first game, .706 to .217 in the second and .700 to .135 in the third. USC's only lead of the match was at 5-4 in the third game.
LAST YEAR
USC proved in 2000 that the program has returned to national prominence. The Trojans had a 22-5 NCAA record (26-6 overall) and captured a share of the Pacific Division crown in the difficult Mountain Pacific Sports Federation by going 16-3 (their first league title since 1991). USC twice beat a No. 1-ranked squad in 2000 (UCLA and Long Beach State), was 14-0 at home and spent two weeks near the end of the season ranked No. 1 before finishing third. Only a close loss to Pepperdine in the semifinals of the MPSF tournament kept Troy out of the NCAA Final Four in 2000 (a loss to BYU in the MPSF tourney finals knocked USC out of the NCAA tourney in 1999).
RETURN TO GLORY?
The 2001 season is the 10th anniversary of USC's last appearance in the NCAA Final Four. In the 15-year span from 1977 to 1991, USC was a near-annual contender for the NCAA title as the Trojans won 4 NCAA crowns, finished second 6 times and were third once.
ALMOST
For each of the past two seasons, the USC men's volleyball team was a victory away from capturing a berth into the NCAA Championship, but losses to Pepperdine in 2000 and BYU in 1999 kept the Trojans home.
TOUGH AT HOME
USC is 202-61 (.768) in home matches in its 25-year history. The Trojans had a school-record 19-match home winning streak in the quaint North Gym (dating to the 1999 season) snapped when they lost to BYU this season. Last year, Troy went 14-0 in the North Gym, its first unblemished home season since 1991 and its most home wins ever.
ACES ARE WILD
Against UC Irvine (1-23), Beau Rawi served a school-record 8 aces and USC posted 18 aces in the match, also a school record.
VOLLEYBALL SCHOOL
Besides the 4 NCAA crowns (1977-80-88-90) that USC's men have won, the Women of Troy have captured 4 national volleyball titles. USC's women won the AIAW trophy in 1976, 1977 and 1980, and the NCAA crown in 1981, all under coach Chuck Erbe. The 2000 Women of Troy advanced to the NCAA Final Four, but lost in the semifinals.
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 men's volleyball head coach and help bring the Trojans back to national prominence. Now in his fifth year, his career mark is 90-53. In 1997, his first season, Powers put USC back on track, with its first winning season since 1994 at 18-14. In 1998, his Trojans went 17-17 and missed the MPSF Tournament by just one win. In 1999, the 24-12 Trojans advanced to the finals of the MPSF tourney and earned a No. 7 national ranking. Last year, USC shared the MPSF Pacific Division title and went 26-6 with a No. 4 national ranking. The 6-foot-5 Powers is 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 America's first-ever 'Triple Crown': the 1984 Olympics, 1985 World Cup and 1986 World Championships.
RETURNING STARTERS
USC returns 5 starters from 2000--All-American opposite hitter Brook Billings, 3-year starting outside hitters Trevor Julian and Eli Fairfield, and middle blockers Beau Rawi and Mark Dusharme. USC's only loss from 2000 is a big one: 2-time All-American setter Donald Suxho, the AVCA National Player of the Year who was a 4-year starter and owns Troy's career record for aces.
NOTES
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)...Besides Donny Killian's vast USC heritage, several other players have Trojan relatives: Beau Rawi's brother, Omar, started for USC's men's volleyball team in 1998 and 1999. Miles McGann's brother, Grant, played water polo at USC in 1997. Several dozen of Marcus Gilmour's relatives attended USC, including his mother and father. Charley Witt is a fourth generation Trojan: his father, Bob, played water polo at USC and his great grandfather and grandfather are Trojan alumns. Peter Jordan's grandparents attended USC.
KID'S CORNER
Local youth groups will be the guests of USC at 4 men's volleyball games in 2000--UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 10), Loyola Chicago (March 9), Harvard (March 27) and La Verne (April 7)--as part of the Trojan athletic department's "Kid's Corner" program.
