USC
Pepperdine
No. 6 USC Men's Volleyball Sweeps Pepperdine
February 10, 2012 | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 10, 2012
Steven Mochalski had 14 kills, Tony Ciarelli added 10 kills and Robert Feathers had 7 blocks to help the No. 6-ranked USC men's volleyball team sweep No. 10 Pepperdine, 25-23, 27-25, 25-16, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Friday (Feb. 10) in USC's Galen Center.
USC improved to 6-4 overall and 5-4 in the MPSF. Pepperdine fell to 6-5 overall and is tied with the Trojans in the MPSF at 5-4. It was Troy's fifth victory in the past 6 meetings against the Waves.
USC hit .333 overall to Pepperdine's .172 and the Trojans had a decided edge in blocks (13.0 to 5.0). The Waves had 10 more digs than Troy (27-17).
Mochalski hit .385 and Ciarelli was at .348. Steven Shandrick added 8 kills while hitting .500 and he had 4 blocks. Trojan Maddison McKibbin saw his first action of the 2012 season after being sidelined with a pre-season ankle sprain and he notched 4 blocks while subbing the third set for Tanner Jansen, who sprained his ankle on the final play of the second set.
For Pepperdine, Maurice Torres had 16 kills while hitting .429 and he had 7 digs. Josh Taylor added 11 kills.
USC used a 6-0 run to open up a 17-10 lead in the first set and the Trojans were able to hang on as Pepperdine closed within 23-22. USC led for most of the second set until the Waves caught up at 19-19, then the set seesawed until a Wave serving error followed by a Ciarelli kill and then a Wave hitting error ended it. The Trojans scored 6 unanswered points to go up 20-12 and gain control of the third set while hitting .536 and posting 7.0 blocks.
USC now takes a break from MPSF action for its next match, hosting Hope International, the NAIA's No. 7-ranked team, on Thursday, Feb. 16. The match now will start at 6 p.m. and the USC's women's team-which has played in the past 2 NCAA Final Fours-will hold a scrimmage against Biola immediately following the men's contest.
