USC
Thompson Rivers
USC Men's Volleyball Team Struggles At Can-Am Challenge
October 18, 2009 | Men's Volleyball
Oct. 18, 2009
The USC men's volleyball team got its 2009-10 season off to a slow start by winning just 1 of 4 matches against Canadian teams at the 14th annual Husky Energy Can-Am Challenge in Alberta, Canada, on Oct. 16-17.
A year ago, the Trojans went 4-0 in the pre-season tourney and became the first NCAA team to have an undefeated record at the tournament since 2003, helping the NCAA win its first Can-Am Challenge in 5 years.
This year, the 4 Canadian Interuniversity Sport teams (Alberta, Thompson Rivers, British Columbia and Brandon) won 11 of the 16 matches against their NCAA counterparts (USC, Pepperdine, Lewis and Juniata).
The all-time tournament record now stands at 10-4 in favor of the Canadian teams.
USC-which experimented with its lineups throughout the tournament-opened on Oct. 16 with a 25-21, 25-22, 25-21 victory over Thompson Rivers, behind the strong play of setter Riley McKibbin. McKibbin made the tourney's NCAA All-Star team this year, a season after being named the tournament's NCAA MVP.
Later that day, the Trojans fell to British Columbia, 25-23, 25-22, 25-18. Middle blocker Austin Zahn led USC with 9 kills while hitting .636.
On Oct. 17, USC fell to Brandon, 26-24, 30-28, 25-20, then lost to Alberta, 25-21, 25-21, 25-22. USC All-American outside hitter Murphy Troy saw his only action in the tourney against Alberta, getting a match-best 16 kills while Zahn added 7 kills. Host Alberta, which opens its regular season this week, is the 2-time defending CIS national champion.
The Trojans, who were runners-up at the 2009 NCAA Championships, next host the USC Fall Tournament on Nov. 6 and 7 at the Galen Center. Joining USC in the tourney will be Cal State Northridge, Pacific and Beach State.
