Men's volleyball

USC now owns wins over top two teams

By Ryan Hochgesang
Assistant Sports Editor

The USC men's volleyball team entered this past weekend unranked and struggling, coming off a three-game loss to Long Beach State.
After beating No. 2 Brigham Young Tuesday night, the Trojans showed they could play with the top teams in the country.
But this weekend, USC proved not only that it can play with the top teams, but that it is one of the best teams in the country.
Friday night, USC dominated the middle to upset No. 1 Stanford, 5-15, 15-8, 15-8, 15-13.
There was no emotional letdown the next night. Saturday, the Trojans defeated No. 11 Pacific, 8-15, 15-9, 15-9, 15-12.
"I knew we could beat the best teams in the country if we played well," middle blocker Eric Seiffert said. "We matched up well with Stanford physically, so there was no reason not to win."
Against Stanford, USC was able to control the middle of the net and attack the Cardinal defense.
"That's been our goal all year long: to get our middles more involved," USC Coach Pat Powers said. "Szilard Kovacs and Eric Seiffert are near the top in the country in hitting percentage, and I don't expect that to change. We'll just keep feeding it inside."
Kovacs had 15 kills and hit .619. He also led the Trojans with seven blocks.
"We passed really well, and Szilard was unstoppable inside," Seiffert said.
Gabe Gardner led USC with 23 kills and hit .333.
Senior Chris Guigliano added 17 kills and hit .433, while Beau Bianchi chipped in 13 kills. Setter Donald Suxho had 69 assists.
USC was dominated in the first game, as the Cardinal hit .483.
But the Trojan defense settled down in game two, holding Stanford to hitting .083. USC took the game on a Guigliano kill.
USC fell behind early in the third game, but a Kovacs block on Mike Hoefer capped a 12-3 run to close out the game.
Game four was a tough battle, but USC came away with the victory when a Mike Lambert hit went off the pole, out of bounds.
The Trojans got off to another slow start against Pacific, allowing the Tigers to hit .436 in winning the first game.
"For some reason, we're just not clicking in the first games of matches," Powers said. "We have to do a better job getting warmed up and prepared for the game."
With the score tied 5-5 in the second game, Powers replaced the struggling Gardner with Omar Rawi, and USC went on a 10-4 run to take the game.
"I think Gabe's shin splints were bothering him tonight," Powers said. "He wasn't hitting well and he wasn't moving well."
USC took game three on a Bianchi kill, then won game four on a kill by Seiffert.
Guigliano had a team-high 21 kills. Beau Bianchi added 16 kills and hit .536, while Kovacs had 15 kills, hitting .433.