Oregon State
USC
Volleyball Drops Four-Game Match To No. 17 USC
October 15, 1999 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 15, 1999
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Angie Shirley had a match-high 19 kills, but the Oregon State volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of No. 17 Southern California prior to Midnight at Miller Court on Friday night. Game scores were 11-15, 15-6, 15-9 and 15-8.
The Beavers (8-8, 2-6) hit .300 with 21 kills in the first game, but their offense slowly tapered off as the night went on. OSU's hitting percentage steadily decreased each game, with the Beavers hitting .225 in game two, followed by a .196 mark in game three and a mere .111 in the final game. OSU ended up with a .215 mark on the night, compared to USC's .323 percentage.
Shirley finished with a .375 percentage for OSU, and Gina Schmidt hit .333 with 15 kills, but no other Beavers hit above .222. USC (10-5, 5-3) had four players above .364, including Antoinette Polk, who knocked down a team-high 18 kills with a .378 hitting percentage.
The Beavers did manage to outdig USC, which leads the Pac-10 in digs per game. OSU, which ranks ninth in the league in digs, tallied 67 digs to USC's 63. Schmidt and USC's Tracy Lindquist each had a match-high 14 digs, while Brandi Bonnarens and Sarah Bjeldanes added 12 apiece for OSU. Polk also had 12 digs for USC.
But it was USC's strong play at the net that gave the Women of Troy the advantage. USC posted 14 blocks, with Jennifer Pahl leading the team with seven. The Beavers managed just five on the night.
OSU appeared ready to make a comeback in game three after USC missed a couple game point chances. With the score at 14-5, Shirley slammed down a kill and OSU scored on a USC error. The teams then traded sideouts, and the Beavers scored three straight points to close in at 14-9. USC missed its next game point opportunity, but finally put the game away on its fourth chance.
The Beavers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in game four, but USC went a 5-0 run to pull ahead. The Beavers tied it at 5-5, but USC scored five points on the next rotation and never relinquished its lead.
OSU returns to action Saturday, October 16 when the Beavers host No. 6 UCLA at 7:00 p.m. at Gill Coliseum.
Match Results
No. 17 USC 11 15 15 15 Oregon State 15 6 9 8
