USC
Stanford
USC Men's Volleyball Upsets No. 4 Stanford
February 23, 2001 | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 23, 2001
Senior outside hitter Eli Fairfield had a team-high 20 kills and eight blocks as the No. 8-ranked USC men's volleyball team upset fourth-ranked Stanford, 18-30, 30-21, 31-29, 30-26 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match in Palo Alto.
The loss was Stanford's first in five home matches this season.
USC won its third straight and improved to 6-3 overall and 6-3 in the MPSF. Stanford fell to 8-2 overall and 4-2 conference play.
Stanford did just about everything right in the first game, never trailing en route to a 30-18 victory. The Cardinal hit an astounding .762 in the first game - pounding 16 kills without an error in 21 attempts - while Stanford's five blocks helped hold USC to an -.034 hitting percentage (9 k, 10 e, 29 ta).
Game two was different from the start, as USC forced a quick Stanford timeout at 6-3, then raced to a 22-12 advantage. The Cardinal scored four consecutive points to narrow the gap, but the Trojans hit .457 for the game and cruised to the 30-21 triumph.
Games three and four were see-saw battles, with USC using late runs to win both. In the deciding fourth game, the Trojans hit .400 (20 k, 6 e, 35 ta) while Stanford managed just a .250 mark (15 k, 6 e, 26 ta). Game four was tied 22-22, however, USC rattled off eight of the next 12 points for the victory.
In addition to Fairfield, three other Trojans reached double-digits in kills, as sophomore middle blocker Josh Day pounded 14 with a .650 hitting percentage, junior All-American opposite hitter Brook Billings had 13, and senior outside hitter Trevor Julian added 12. Junior libero Greg Burden finished with a match-high 10 digs.
Sophomore opposite hitter Curt Toppel paced Stanford with 22 kills - his third straight 20-kill effort - while adding six digs and six blocks. Senior Brett Youngberg had an outstanding match with 14 kills and one error in 16 attempts (.813), six blocks and two digs. Junior Marcus Skacel complemented his team-high seven digs with 14 kills, whileKyle Strache had eight blocks (tied for match-high).
USC travels to No. 11 Pacific for a 7 p.m. match on Saturday (Feb. 24).
