University Southern California Trojans
USC Men's Volleyball Hosts 3 Matches In 4 Days
March 07, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
March 7, 2006
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THE FACTS
The No. 14-ranked USC men's volleyball team (8-11 overall, 5-9 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)--coming off a week's rest--hosts 3 matches in a 4-day span this week: facing No. 8 Penn State (11-4) in a non-conference contest on Wednesday (March 8) in the North Gym, then playing a pair of MPSF matches in the Lyon Center on Friday (March 10) against UC San Diego (1-16, 0-13) and on Saturday (March 11) versus No. 6 Long Beach State (13-6, 8-5). All 3 matches begin at 7 p.m. After starting off the 2006 season at 7-4, the Trojans have dropped 7 of their last 8 matches.
HIX HONORED
Former USC men's volleyball head coach Ernie Hix (1974-81), who guided the Trojans to their first-ever NCAA titles (1977 and 1980), will be honored during the March 11 match against Long Beach State. A reception will follow at the Galen Center (to RSVP, contact USC assistant coach Bill Ferguson at 213-740-3839).
ON THE AIR
All of USC's home matches are broadcast live over the internet on www.usctrojans.com.
RANKINGS
USC is 14th in the current CSTV/AVCA poll. Penn State is eighth, UC San Diego is not ranked and Long Beach State is sixth.
OPPONENTS USC owns a 14-5 series mark against Penn State, but has lost the last 3 meetings (including 3-0 in the 2005 Penn State tourney). This will be only the second time that Penn State has played at USC (the other was in 1987, a 3-0 USC win). The Nittany Lions play at UC Irvine on March7. USC is 27-4 all-time against UC San Diego, including a 3-0 win in late January. The Tritons host Quincy on March 8. The Trojans lead the series with Long Beach State, 46-41, but have dropped the last 12 meetings, including twice this season (3-0 at the UC Santa Barbara tourney and then 3-1 in MPSF play). The 49ers play at Pepperdine on March 9.
LAST MATCHES
No. 14 USC fell to No. 4 Hawaii, 30-18, 30-26, 27-30, 30-24, in an MPSF match on Feb. 27 in USC's Lyon Center. Juan Figueroa had 20 kills, Joao Grangeiro added 12 kills and 10 digs and Jimmy Killian had 6 blocks. Hawaii jumped on the Trojans early in the first game, building a 10-5 lead that kept expanding behind the Warriors .548 hitting percentage in that game. In the second game, Hawaii fought back from a 20-15 deficit to gain a 26-24 lead that held up. The third game was tied at 15-15 when USC scored the next 3 points to give it a lead it never relinquished. The final game remained tight until Hawaii scored 6 unanswered points to forge an insurmountable 29-23 lead. The Warriors outhit (.386 to .221) and outblocked (.18.5 to 11.5) the Trojans. The next night , Feb. 28, the Warriors swept Troy, 30-28, 30-20, 31-29, their 12th consecutive win over USC. Figueroa had 16 kills and Grangeiro had 11 kills. Hawaii dominated the hitting (.333 to .119) and blocking (14.5 to 5.5) statistics, but USC had more digs (24 to 19). The first game seesawed until the end, when a Hawaii triple block and then a Trojan hitting error gave the Warriors the game. Hawaii pulled ahead early in the second game, at 4-1 and then 10-6, and was never threatened as it hit .467 with 4.5 blocks in that game. In the third game, USC fought back from a 22-17 deficit with 5 unanswered points and even pulled ahead at 25-24, only to fall behind again at 28-26. The Trojans then tied it at 29-29 before consecutive Hawaii kills ended the match.
