Volleyball Falls to No. 8 USC in Three Games
September 25, 1998
LOS ANGELES - The Oregon State volleyball team (10-3, 0-2) dropped a 15-3, 15-11, 15-13 match to No. 8 USC (6-3, 2-1) Friday evening.
Despite a dismal effort in game one, when OSU hit just .034 with seven kills and six errors, the Beavers were able to stay with the Trojans for most of the remainder of the match.
Oregon State regrouped before the second game and jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. USC slowly caught up, tied the score at 9-9, took the lead and never trailed for the remainder of the game.
Game three opened up with four ties, and it took eight sideouts for the Trojans to break the 4-4 tie. USC rallied to take a 9-4 lead, but the Beavers had their own rally planned. Aided by Jessica Papell's two service aces, OSU sparked a comeback to tie the game at 9-9.
"Jessica's jump serves were probably the highlight of the match," said coach Jeff Mozzochi. "They gave us an injection of energy in game three."
Oregon State would go on to lead 13-11, but USC tied the game yet again. The Trojans finally put the match away on a block from Antoinette Polk and Jasmina Marinkovic.
Krista Kinsman led the Beavers with nine kills, while Sarah Bjeldanes and Gina Schmidt each had eight. USC had three players in double-figures, led by Jennifer Kessy's 17.
"Our intensity level got better tonight," said Mozzochi. "They handled the toughest situations in the conference in terms of noise and crowd, and they handled it well."
The Beavers return to action Sunday, September 27 when they face UCLA at 1:00 p.m.
Linescore Oregon State 3 11 13 No. 8 USC 15 15 15
