March 24, 2004

Box Score

LOS ANGELES-Scott Arneson had 22 kills, 6 digs and 5 blocks to lead the No. 4-ranked Cal State Northridge men's volleyball team to a 30-26, 30-27, 30-32, 30-25 win over No. 15 USC in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Wednesday (March 24) in USC's North Gym.

The Matadors-who won their sixth consecutive match-improved to 16-6 overall and 10-5 in the MPSF. The Trojans fell to 6-16 overall and 4-11 in the MPSF.

Arneson hit .325. Nils Nielsen added 13 kills, 5 digs, 4 blocks and 3 aces for CSUN, while teammate Brian Waite had 11 blocks and 10 kills, Doug English had 13 digs, Ty Tramblie had 10 digs and Cary Hanson had 4 blocks and 3 aces.

For USC, Blake Tippett had 16 kills and 4 blocks, Jeff Bailey added 12 kills and 5 blocks, Joao Grangeiro had 13 digs, 3 blocks and 3 aces, Ian Gallagher had 5 blocks and 4 digs off the bench, and Chris McKniff had 8 blocks.

Although CSUN hit only .226, the Trojans managed to hit at just a .137 clip. Both teams blocked, served and dug well, with the Matadors holding a slight edge in blocks (16.5 to 14) and digs (40 to 37) and USC getting 8 aces to CSUN's 6.

USC held a 20-17 lead in the first game before CSUN-behind a .400 hitting effort-scored 9 of the next 12 points to go up 26-23 and gain control. The Matadors started the second game with a 7-1 edge, but Troy caught them at 12-12; then with the game knotted at 26-26, an Arneson kill and a USC hitting error gave CSUN all the cushion it needed. The Trojans led most of the third game before CSUN caught up; with the score tied at 30-30, a Grangeiro kill and an CSUN hitting error gave USC the game. The Matadors pulled away from a 6-6 tie in the fourth game by scoring 3 consecutive points, including 2 on Hanson aces, and never relinquished the lead.

USC next hosts No. 7 UC Santa Barbara in an MPSF match on Saturday (March 27) at 7 p.m. in the Lyon Center.