USC gears up for MPSF play

Men's volleyball

USC gears up for MPSF play
By Ron Ognar
Assistant Sports Editor

Coming off victories over the No. 1 and No. 8 teams in the country at the UC Santa Barbara Invitational, the No. 11 USC men's volleyball team will tune up for conference play against Division II Cal State San Bernardino on the road at 7 p.m. today.
Last season, the Trojans defeated the Coyotes, 15-12, 15-7, at the 1997 UC Santa Barbara Invitational. San Bernardino finished 4-9 last season.
At the Invitational last weekend, the Trojans went 6-2, good enough for seventh place out of 16 teams. The result was impressive, considering USC started three or four freshman each game. The six victories included wins over No. 1 BYU (17-15, 16-14) and No. 8 Stanford (10-15, 15-13, 15-13).
The Trojans came up short against No. 5 Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (11-15, 7-15) and No. 3 Pepperdine (8-15, 9-15) on the first day of the tournament.
"Right now Pepperdine is a better team," said USC Head Coach Pat Powers. "But against (Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne) we had six players playing bad. That means it's the coach's fault. The coaching staff...has to learn who the players are."
The Trojans might be inclined to look past San Bernardino, with their key Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener against No. 4 Long Beach State looming. USC will take on the 49ers on Saturday in the North Gym.
Last season, Long Beach State was 19-10 overall and 12-7 in the MPSF, finishing in second place in the Pacific Division. The 49ers easily handled the Trojans in both matchups last year, with a 6-15, 9-15, 3-15 win at home and a 7-15, 11-15, 6-15 win at North Gym.
"Long Beach State is the class of the field," Powers said about the Pacific Division of the MPSF this season.
A victory over the 49ers would indicate that the young Trojan team is not just full of promise, but ready to compete with the best of the MPSF.
"This is a huge game," Powers said. "One of the biggest matchups of the year for us. Personnel-wise, they may be a little better than us. We have to beat them by...reducing mistakes."