USC Men's Volleyball Hosts No. 4 Pepperdine On Friday
March 21, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
March 21, 2006
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In its only action of the week, the No. 12-ranked USC men's volleyball team (10-14 overall, 6-12 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) hosts No. 4 Pepperdine (13-5, 13-5) in an MPSF match on Friday (March 24) at 7 p.m. in the Lyon Center.
ON THE AIR
All of USC's home matches are broadcast live over the internet on www.usctrojans.com.
RANKINGS
USC is tied for 12th in the current CSTV/AVCA poll. Pepperdine is fourth.
OPPONENTS
Pepperdine holds a 49-31 series edge over USC and the Waves have won the last 9 meetings. Troy's last win in the series came in 2001.
LAST MATCHES
Top-ranked UC Irvine swept No. 12 USC, 30-22, 30-26, 30-23, in an MPSF road match on March 16. The Anteaters hit .407 to Troy's .268 and had more digs (45 to 30), but USC outblocked UCI, 11.0 to 3.5. Juan Figueroa had a team-best 18 kills while hitting .417, Joao Grangeiro added 11 kills with 6 digs and 4 blocks, Matt Mosko and Jimmy Killian each had 5 blocks and Luke Morris had 10 digs. Then on March 17, No. 8 UCLA came back from a 2-game deficit to beat USC, 30-32, 27-30, 30-27, 30-25, 15-7, in a MPSF match at Pauley Pavilion that also served as the 29th Kilgour Cup. Figueroa had 19 kills and 7 digs, Grangeiro added 16 kills, C.J. Schellenberg had 9 kills and 9 blocks and Mosko had 8 kills and 8 blocks. UCLA outhit Troy, .294 to .177, and had more digs (42 to 34). USC outblocked the Bruins, 17.5 to 15.0. USC had a 24-18 lead in the first game, but UCLA scored 7 of the next 8 points to tie it at 25-25. The Bruins then went up 29-27, but the Trojans staved off game point twice before scoring 3 unanswered points for the win. USC then opened up a quick 6-1 lead in the second game and held on even as UCLA pulled to within a point late in the game at 28-27. Troy held a 22-21 lead in the third game before UCLA rolled off 3 straight points to take over for good. The Bruins hit .387 in that game to USC's .172. In the fourth game, USC fought back from a 21-16 deficit to tie it at 21-21. But UCLA scored 5 of the next 6 points to regain control as the Bruins hit .302 in the game to USC's .171. UCLA jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the final game and steadily pulled away at 8-3 and then 10-6 as USC never threatened
