University Southern California Trojans
USC
<b>*UCLA (NG)</b>
No. 13 USC Men's Volleyball Stuns No. 5 UCLA
February 01, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 1, 2006
Los Angeles - Joao Grangeiro had 17 kills and Juan Figueroa added 16 kills to help the No. 13 USC men's volleyball team snap a 14-match losing streak to UCLA with a 30-27, 30-17, 27-30, 30-26 upset over the No. 5 Bruins in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Wednesday (Feb. 1) in USC's North Gym.
The victory was the Trojans' first over UCLA since a 5-game win in 2000 at Pauley Pavilion. It also gave USC 2.5 points towards the Lexus Gauntlet, the all-sports competition between the schools.
USC improved to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the MPSF, while UCLA dropped to 5-5 and 1-3.
The 6-foot Grangeiro also had 3 blocks, including a pair of solo blocks on UCLA's 6-11 Nick Scheftic. Figueroa had 9 digs and 4 blocks. Andrew Vernon added 10 kills while hitting .444 and had 6 blocks for the Trojans, while teammate C.J. Schellenberg added 9 kills and 6 blocks.
USC outhit the Bruins, .317 to .234, and also outblocked them, 14 to 5.
For UCLA, Ian Jackson came off the bench to get 13 kills, while Scheftic and Paul George each had 11 kills.
The Trojans jumped out to an early 16-9 lead in the first game, but UCLA rallied to within 27-26 before USC regained control. Troy was never threatened in the second game after posting a 14-7 lead as USC outhit the Bruins in that game, .474 to .040. UCLA rebounded in a closely-contested third game, surging ahead at 19-17 and never relinquishing that edge. But the Trojans jumped on the Bruins early in the final game, building a 12-4 lead and riding it out for the victory.
USC next travels to Newark, N.J., to participate in the Golden Dome Classic. The Trojans first meet New Jersey Institute of Technology on Friday (Feb. 3) and then face host Rutgers-Newark on Saturday (Feb. 4).
