Men's volleyball

Volleyball wins against Coyotes

By Mike Cisneros
Assistant Sports Editor

After the intense UC Santa Barbara Invitational last weekend -- which included three of the top 10 teams in the country -- the No. 11 USC men's volleyball team got a break with a 15-5, 15-6, 15-6 road win over Division II opponent Cal State San Bernardino at Coussoulis Arena.
This was USC's first non-tournament match after facing eight teams in the invitational tournament.
The match also served as a warm-up for the Trojans' home opener and first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match of the season this weekend against No. 4 Long Beach State.
The Trojans (7-2 overall) held San Bernardino (0-1) to a dismal .038 hitting percentage while hitting .253 as a team.
USC also outblocked the Coyotes, 10-6.
USC junior middle blocker Omar Rawi led the Trojans with a match-high 12 kills and a .364 hitting percentage.
Freshman outside hitter Eli Fairfield contributed 10 kills to complement Rawi on offense.
Sophomore setter Donald Suxho was at the offensive controls, handing out 35 assists in the match.
The Coyotes were led by Jason Miner, who recorded 11 kills and 11 digs, but also had 10 errors and a .032 hitting percentage.
Other San Bernardino players had only single figures in kills, and two Coyote starting players were held to negative hitting percentages.
USC Coach Pat Powers again went to his bench -- consisting primarily of freshmen -- in the San Bernardino match, during which six freshmen received considerable playing time.
The Trojans dominated from the beginning, holding San Bernardino to a minus-.160 hitting percentage to take a 1-0 lead.
San Bernardino did not fare much better in the second game, as the Coyotes only hit .095 while allowing USC to burn ahead and record 19 kills.
USC hit its worst in the third game with a .167 hitting percentage, but the Coyotes shot themselves in the foot by recording 10 errors in the final game, allowing USC to seal the win.