USC Wins First MPSF Tournament Title

5/4/2009 12:00:00 AM

May 4, 2009

USC (13-9 MPSF, 20-10 overall) edged Pepperdine, 3-2, fighting off two match points and winning 21-19 in the fifth for its first MPSF Championship. Murphy Troy tallied 23 kills while Tony Ciarelli added 19 with four aces. The No. 5 seeded Trojans stunned No. 1 seed UC Irvine in the semifinal, 3-0. That outcome marked the first Trojan win over the Anteaters since 2004 (11 meetings). USC, making its first NCAA appearance since 1991, is the NCAA No. 2 seed in Provo, UT and faces No. 3 seed and EIVA Champion Penn State Thursday (May 7) in the first semifinal at 7 pm (MDT).

PEPPERDINE (18-4 MPSF, 22-5 overall) MPSF Player of the Year Paul Carroll slammed 33 kills in a 3-1 MPSF semifinal win over No. 3 seed CS Northridge last Thursday at UC Irvine. Kasey Crider set the Waves to a .333 hitting attack and tossed up 70 assists (17.5 A/S). Pep registered 17.5 blocks for the second straight playoff match. Carroll added 37 kills (.372) in the championship loss, tying his own single-match school record, and totaling 70 in nine sets for the week. He also had four service aces. Crider recorded 67 assists and 13 digs in the MPSF finals.

UC IRVINE (19-3 MPSF, 25-5 overall) was led by Taylor Wilson's 19 kills (.484) in the semifinal home loss to No. 5 seed USC. MPSF Freshman of the Year Carson Clark recorded 13 kills, a career-high 12 digs, three aces, and three blocks. Guided by setter Ryan Ammerman, the Anteaters hit .462 as a team, their third highest offensive output of the year. UC Irvine received the NCAA Tournament At-Large selection, and will take the No. 1 seed to Provo, UT facing No. 4 seed and MIVA Champion Ohio State Thursday at 9 pm (MDT). UCI won its first national championship in 2007.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (16-6 MPSF, 24-7 overall) ended its season with a 3-1 MPSF Semifinal loss to No. 2 seed Pepperdine last Thursday in Irvine's Bren Center. First-team all-conference hitter Eric Vance recorded 31 kills (.377) and 12 digs in his final collegiate match. Mike Gaudino added 19 kills (.341) and Jacek Ratajczak put away 11 in 27 errorless swings (.407). Kevin McKniff, on 11 kills and .526 hitting, was the fourth player in which freshman Matt Stork set into double-figure kills. Stork dished out 63 assists and dug 12 balls for a double-double.