USC Men's Volleyball Travels To Hawaii Friday
March 13, 2001 | Men's Volleyball
March 13, 2001
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THE FACTS
The No. 4-ranked USC men's volleyball team (12-6 overall, 10-4 NCAA, 9-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Pacific Division) resumes MPSF play when it travels to No. 2 Hawaii (13-3, 8-2) for a Spring Break match on Friday (March 16) at 7 p.m.
RANKINGS
USC is ranked fourth (tie) in this week's USA Today/AVCA coaches poll and fourth by Volleyball. Hawaii is second by both USA Today/AVCA and Volleyball.
OPPONENT
USC leads its series with Hawaii, 27-19, and has won the last 4 meetings. The Rainbows, coming off a pair of upset wins over Pepperdine, are led by sophomore outside hitter Costas Theocharidis (241 kills, .395, 76 digs, 57 blocks), senior middle blocker Brenton Davis (149 kills, .504, 65 blocks) and senior outside hitter Torry Tukuafu (142 kills, 19 aces, 73 digs).
LAST MATCHES
No. 2-ranked UCLA snapped No. 4 USC's 6-match winning streak with a 34-32, 33-31, 30-17 win in an MPSF home match on Wednesday (March 7). The Trojans had chances to win the first 2 games, but couldn't pull them out. In the first game, USC led 29-28 and then served 4 times for the game before the Bruins prevailed by scoring the game's final 3 points. Troy was up 29-24 in the second game, but UCLA scored 6 consecutive points to pull ahead. In game 3, UCLA jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead which it never relinquished. Brook Billings had a match-high 15 kills for the Trojans and added 6 digs, while senior outside hitter Eli Fairfield had 10 kills, a match-best 5 aces and 6 digs. The Bruins outhit the Trojans, .462 to .221, and also outblocked them, 9.0 to 2.0. USC bounced back on Friday (March 9) by beating Loyola-Chicago, 30-19, 30-21, 30-26, at home in Troy's first non-conference match of the season. Fairfield had 11 kills and Billings added 10. Trevor Julian had a match-high 6 aces and hit .455, while Donny Killian hit .714 and Josh Day hit .462 and had a team-best 4 blocks. USC outhit Loyola-Chicago, .302 to .136, and had 12 aces to the Ramblers' 1.
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.
LAST YEAR
USC proved in 2000 that the program has returned to national prominence. The Trojans had a 22-5 NCAA record and captured a share of the Pacific Division crown in the difficult MPSF 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).
TOUGH AT HOME
USC is 206-62 (.769) 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. USC is 7-2 at home in 2001. Last year, Troy went 14-0 in the North Gym, its first unblemished home season since 1991 and its most home wins ever.
SUBSTITUTE HEAD COACH
When head coach Pat Powers missed USC's home match against BYU (2-28) to be with his ill mother, assistant Turhan Douglas--with the help of assistant Laura Ames--directed the Trojans quite capably. In fact, Troy upset the top-ranked, undefeated Cougars, 3-1.
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 97-55. 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.
RESERVES
The wild card on USC's roster is 6-8 redshirt freshman outside hitter Marcus Gilmour, who redshirted last season while recuperating from knee surgery. USC's tallest player, he's just now rounding into playing form...There are four freshmen outside hitters on the 2001 Trojans: a pair of 6-3 players in Peter Jordan and Greg Stampley, 6-4 Charley Witt and 6-5 Michael Hickman. Jordan, Stampley and Hickman have seen limited action in 2001. Jordan was the 1999 All-CIF Division II MVP as a senior at San Marcos High in Santa Barbara, Calif., but sat out the 2000 season while working. Stampley was a 2000 All-CIF Division I first teamer on CIF Division I titlist Corona del Mar (Calif.) High. Witt, whose brothers played at Stanford, made the 2000 All-CIF Division III first team at Santa Ynez (Calif.) Valley Union High. Hickman was a three-time All-State selection while at Castle Hills First Baptist High in San Antonio, Tex. Owen Hanson, a 2000 All-CIF Division II first team pick from Redondo (Calif.) Union High, comes in as a 6-2 frosh opposite hitter. Ian Gallagher, who sat out his 2000 senior season at Bishop Montgomery High in Torrance, Calif., with a knee injury (he was a 1999 All-CIF Division II second teamer), is a 6-5 freshman setter. Jordan, Stampley, Hickman and Hanson all were named to Volleyball's Fab 50 prep list.
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 alums. 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.
