Jan. 9, 2008

Box Score
Video on Trojan TV All Access
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Kevin McKniff had 16 kills, 6 blocks and 3 aces to help the No. 8-ranked Cal State Northridge men's volleyball team come back and beat No. 11 USC, 26-30, 30-28, 30-21, 30-19, in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener for both teams on Wednesday (Jan. 9) in USC's Galen Center.

The Matadors moved to 3-1 overall, while USC fell to 1-3.

McKniff, whose older brother, Chris, played for the Trojans from 2002 to 2005, hit .609. Teammate Cody Loe added 13 kills while hitting .440 and had 7 blocks, while Ryan Adams had 11 kills (hitting .500) and 5 blocks and Isaac Kneubuhl had 11 kills and 4 blocks.

For USC, C.J. Schellenberg had 17 kills and 4 blocks, Murphy Troy added 16 kills and Juan Figueroa had 11 kills and 8 digs.

CSUN hit .369 to USC's .179, had more blocks (14.5 to 10.5) and served 6 aces. The Trojans had 38 digs, including 14 by Luke Morris.

USC jumped on CSUN quickly in the first game, going up 6-2 and then building the lead to 16-8 before the Matadors crept back to within 20-17, but they could get no closer. Neither team forged more than a 3-point lead in the second game, which was tied at 26-26 before a McKniff kill and a Matador ace gave CSUN the edge it needed. In the third game, CSUN got off to a 9-6 lead and was never threatened the rest of the way while hitting .607. The Matadors opened an 8-5 lead in the final game and slowly pulled away, going on a 7-0 run to up the margin to 22-12.

USC next hosts No. 14 UC Santa Barbara on Friday (Jan. 11) in a 7 p.m. MPSF match in the Galen Center.