Top-Ranked Women of Troy Travel To Bay Area For Pac-10 Matches
Volleyball team to face defending NCAA champion Stanford on Friday.

Sept. 30, 2002

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This Week
USC at Stanford, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.
Audio: <a href="http://www.gostanford.com" target="_blank">www.gostanford.com</a>
TV: Fox Sports Net (check times listed below)
USC at Cal, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.
Audio: None
TV: None

The Facts
The No. 1-ranked USC women's volleyball team (10-0, 4-0 Pac-10) will face defending NCAA champion Stanford (12-1, 3-0 Pac-10) and California (11-1, 2-1 Pac-10) this week when it travels to the Bay Area. The Women of Troy face the fourth-ranked Cardinal on Friday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. at Maples Pavilion. The match can be heard live at <a href="http://www.gostanford.com" target="_blank">www.gostanford.com</a> and will be televised by Fox Sports Net on a tape-delay basis Saturday-Wednesday, Oct. 5-9 (see below and check local listing for additional air times). USC then travels to Berkeley on Saturday, Oct. 5, to face Cal at 7 p.m. at Haas Pavilion. The Trojans are coming off 3-0 victories against No. 18 Washington State and Washington last Friday (Sept. 27) and Saturday (Sept. 28).

USC vs. Stanford (10/4) TV Dates & Times
Fox Sports West 2 - Oct. 5 at 1:30 a.m. & 10 a.m., Oct. 7 at 6 p.m., Oct. 8 at 1 p.m.
Fox Sports West - Oct. 9 at Noon
Fox Sports Arizona - Oct. 5 at 1 p.m., Oct. 6 at 3 p.m.
Fox Sports Bay Area - Oct. 5 at 1 p.m., Oct. 6 at 2 a.m.

The Rankings
USC jumped to No. 1 in both the USA Today/AVCA Coaches Poll and Volleyball Magazine Poll on Sept. 16 and continues to maintain its top position this week. The Women of Troy earned a No. 5 final ranking in 2001 by both publications and entered the 2002 season at No. 3.

Who Will Claim The Top Spot?
This week's match-up at Stanford will define a Pac-10 leader, as both USC and Stanford enter the match undefeated in conference play. But the Cal match can not be taken lightly either. The Bears are 2-1 in the Pac-10 and in second place after 3-2 wins over Oregon and Oregon State last week and a loss to the Cardinal the week prior.

Haley Coaches 1,000th Match
Last Saturday's (Sept. 28) USC-Washington match marked Mick Haley's 1,000th career match as head coach. Earlier this season, Haley collected his 800th career victory when USC defeated Pittsburgh, 3-0, on Sept. 1. Haley, who also spent four years as the U.S. Women's National Team coach, now boasts an 808-192-1 (.808) career record in 26 seasons in the college ranks.

USC Jumps To No. 1 Without Playing A Match
The Women of Troy earned the top spot in both polls on Sept. 16 and didn't even have to play a match. The previous week, the Trojans hosted two exhibition matches, but it was their performances the week before that made the difference. Stanford, which previously held the No. 1 spot, was defeated by Florida, 3-0, at the USA Credit Union Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., one week after USC defeated the Gators 3-0 at the BYU Mizuno Classic, thus giving the Trojans a boost.

The Last Time...
The last time USC held the No. 1 spot in either poll was on Oct. 9, 2000. The Trojans were ranked No. 1 by Volleyball magazine for five straight weeks (Sept. 11-Oct. 9), but dropped four spots the following week to No. 5 after falling to Arizona, 3-0, in Tucson on Oct. 13. The last time USC was ranked No. 1 by the AVCA was on Oct. 16, 1984, following a four-game win over previous No. 1 Pacific. USC completed the 1984 season with a 30-7 overall record and No. 5 AVCA ranking.

Powerful At The Line
Thanks to the addition of three jump servers - Katie Olsovsky, April Ross and Julie Mariani - USC has tripled its serving power. Last season, Nicole Davis was the only player to jump serve (and she led the team with 0.30 aces per game), but the Trojans are no longer able to benefit from her serve due to her new role as the libero. Olsovsky, Ross and Mariani have managed to fill the gap. USC is averaging 1.39 aces per game this season (averaged 1.23 sapg in 2001). Ross leads the team with a 0.32 average.

USC Leads Pac-10 In Assists Thanks To Setting Duo
The Trojans lead the conference in team assists with a 17.13 assist per game average (2.13 ahead of second-place UCLA). Ironically, the Women of Troy don't have a setter ranked in the Top 25 nationally or even among the Top 5 in the Pac-10. This is because USC uses two setters. Running a 6-2 offense, USC boasts the talent of both Toni Anderson and Tracy Lindquist and, while they sacrifice individual accolades, together they lead the nation's No. 1 team. Anderson and Lindquist average 9.23 and 6.55 assists per game, respectively.

Match Recaps
vs. #18 Washington State - Thanks to a career-high 13 kills from Lauren Killian, USC defeated No. 18 Washington State, 30-18, 30-21, 30-24, on Sept. 27. The Women of Troy handed the Cougars their first loss of the season and put an end to the Cougar's school record 32-game win streak. In addition to Killian, Katie Olsovsky and Emily Adams added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Olsovsky hit .588 for the night and collected three blocks, while Adams hit .529 in addition to four blocks. USC held Washington State to a .133 attack percentage, out-hit the Cougars 59 to 37 and out-dug WSU 65 to 41. The Trojans also posted 10.0 team blocks, while the Cougars collected 3.0. The Women of Troy wasted no time in establishing control of the match, hitting .333 while pushing WSU to a -.070 hitting percentage thanks to 11 Cougar hitting errors in the first game. USC also took advantage of its height, out-blocking WSU six to zero in the 30-18 game one win. WSU managed to climb within one, 18-17, in game two, but USC rolled to a 30-21 win. The Cougars again found themselves within one at 18-17 in the third game, but USC responded with four straight points and never looked back, marching to a 30-24 win in the final game.

vs. Washington - With four players contributing double-digit scoring, USC swept Washington, 30-28, 30-19, 30-26, on Sept. 28. Keao Burdine led the Women of Troy with 14.5 points in the match thanks to a team-high 14 kills off of 28 attacks for a .429 attack percentage. Neither team had an outstanding night offensively, as USC averaged a .271 attack percentage and Washington hit .231. With a slight advantage in blocks (8.0 to 6.0), digs (58 to 51) and aces (3 to 1), the Trojans made up the difference in kills (55 to 42), while taking advantage of 16 Washington service errors. UW matched USC point-for-point in the first game as the two teams reached a 10-10 tie. The Women of Troy took their first two-point lead at 12-10 thanks to a Burdine kill and a Husky hitting error, but UW remained close and knotted the score five more times. A kill by Adams broke a 28-28 tie to reach game point, and a service ace by Alicia Robinson give USC a 30-28 win. In the second game, USC's offense proved too tough for Washington, as the Trojans earned a 30-19 win. Ahead 5-4 at the start of game three, USC scored eight consecutive to take a 12-5 lead. Slowly the Huskies began to climb back, out-scoring the Trojans 10-to-4 to bring the score within one, 16-15, but it didn't last long as USC scored three straight points to go ahead 19-15 and took the final game 30-26.

Bay Area Connections
Cal head coach Rich Feller was an assistant coach to USC head coach Mick Haley with the U.S.A. women's national team in 1997-98 *** Haley coached Stanford outside hitter Logan Tom while on the U.S. National Team *** Cal junior defensive specialist Ashleigh Turner and USC DS Kristen Anderson were prep teammates at Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach, Calif. *** USC senior defensive specialist Julie Mariani prepped at St. Francis High in Los Altos, Calif.

Black Uni Debut
The Women of Troy saved something special for the Arizona Wildcats by donning new black uniforms on Sept. 21. The Trojans, who have always worn cardinal uniforms on the road and white at home, will sport the new unis for select matches.

News To Note
* Lauren Killian posted a career-high 13 kills, leading USC against #18 WSU on Sept. 27.
* Katie Olsovsky was named Pac-10 Player of the Week on Sept. 23 after hitting .625 with just two errors, recording 17 kills (3.40 kpg) and a team-leading seven blocks (1.40 bpg) for a grand total of 21.5 points as the Women of Troy swept both Arizona schools on the road.
* April Ross was named Pac-10 Player of the Week on Sept. 3 after being named the Radisson Hotel Roberts/Nike Classic MVP by guiding USC to three 3-0 victories, including a 3-0 upset sweep over No. 2 Nebraska. Ross posted double-double kill-dig performances in all three matches.
* Katie Olsovsky hit .733 (11-0-15) against Arizona (Sept. 21) - the mark ranks sixth among USC's all-time individual match records, tying a .733 performance she posted last season against Cal. Since her freshman season she has recorded three hitting performances ranked among USC's top-10.
* April Ross tied a career high with four aces against Arizona State (Sept. 20)
* Emily Adams collected a career-high six blocks against BYU and posted a career-high 12 kills against Wake Forest.
* April Ross collected a career-high 26 kills and tied a career-high with three aces against Wake Forest (Sept. 6).

Trojans Sweep Through Early Season Tourneys
USC opened the 2002 season by winning the Radisson Hotel Roberts/Nike Classic. USC's 3-0 win over Ball State (Aug. 31) ended the Cardinals 42-match home win streak - the third-longest active home win streak in Division 1. The 3-0 win over Pittsburgh (Sept. 1) gave Mick Haley his 800th career victory and the 3-0 win over Nebraska (Sept. 2) solidified USC's Top 5 standing and marked Nebraska's first 3-0 loss since 1997. April Ross was honored as the tournament MVP and Pac-10 Player of the Week, and both Ross and Keao Burdine were named to the all-tournament team.

The following week the Women of Troy captured the BYU Mizuno Classic tournament title with wins over BYU, 3-0, Wake Forest, 3-1, and No. 6 Florida, 3-0. USC's win over sixth-ranked Florida on Sept. 6 was its second-victory over a top 10 opponent in five days after beating Nebraska, 3-0, on Sept. 2. The Trojans also played all three tournament matches in 24 hours (first match was at 7 p.m. on Thursday, final match was played at 7 p.m. on Friday). Keao Burdine was honored as tournament MVP, while April Ross and Emily Adams were named to the all-tournament team.

Trojans Welcome First International Recruit in 7 Years
Bibiana Candelas, a 6-5 middle blocker from Torre