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No. 12 USC Celebrates Block Party With 3-1 Win Over No. 15 San Diego
Dec. 5, 2008
LOS ANGELES -- Junior outside hitter Jessica Gysin (Los Gatos/St. Francis HS) and sophomore middle blocker Zoe Garrett (Laguna Beach/Laguna Beach HS) had 13 kills each as the USC Women of Troy (ranked No. 12 in the nation by Bison/AVCA) defeated the San Diego Toreros (ranked No. 15 by Bison/AVCA), 3-1 (21-25, 25-12, 25-19, 26-24), in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament. Garrett tied season highs for kills and blocks (nine), which also tied her personal career bests. She also hit a season-high .478 (13-2-23), adding three digs and one assist, in front of 1,329 at the Galen Center. USC improved to 7-0 all-time against San Diego. Freshman setter Kendall Bateman (Manhattan Beach/Mira Costa HS) made her first collegiate start, recording a season-high 25 assists with 10 digs and four block assists. Sophomore middle blocker Audrey Eichler (Pacific Palisades/Harvard-Westlake HS/Boston College) also saw her first significant action of the season, recording four kills and six blocks. The Women of Troy (17-11) used 16 blocks on the evening to stop San Diego's offense and force the Toreros (23-5) into committing 36 hitting errors. Ali Troost, who did not play in the Sept. 6 match against USC at the Galen Center, led the Toreros with 13 kills, nine digs and four assists while Amy DeGroot and Torey Ellick had 11 kills each. San Diego setter Jessica Nyrop had 45 assists to go with three kills and 13 digs. USC had a new look in the first set with Bateman and Eichler in the lineup as the Trojans pushed their way to a 7-3 lead. Troost's kill brought the Toreros within one at 8-7. Gysin then served five straight points, including back-to-back aces for the 13-7 advantage. San Diego came back as three straight USC errors were followed by a Breanne Ogden ace for the 15-14 lead in favor of the host Trojans. After Gysin kept USC ahead at 19-18, DeGroots kill sparked five straight points as USD took the lead as Ashton Basch and Troost carried the Toreros to the win in the first set.
Eichler and Roleder's block set the tone in the second set for USC as the Women of Troy reeled off nine straight points to take a 10-2 lead. Four Trojan blocks provided the key as the team would finish the set with nine total blocks. Garrett went back-to-back as USC extended its margin to 11 points at 17-6. Alex Jupiter put back-to-back terminations down for USC as Gysin won the joust to even the match. In the third, USC built an 8-4 lead before USD cut it to two at 12-10. Alli Hillgren's ace capped three straight points for the five-point lead. Jupiter later won another joust as the Trojans maintained their lead at 18-13. Troost recorded two more kills, but Jupiter responded with a block and a kill as Gysin again would put the set winner down for the 2-1 USC match lead. Three straight errors by San Diego put USC on top, 3-0, in the fourth, before the Toreros came back with a 7-1 run and the 7-4 lead. USC used Ellick extensively in the fourth set as she put down two kills for the 10-6 advantage. Both teams traded points as the Toreros stayed ahead by four, 15-11. Garrett and Carico's "310" kill chopped the deficit to one, but San Diego again edged out to the three-point lead at 19-16 as the Trojans burned their final timeout of the set. Carico and Eichler stuffed another San Diego attempt as a mini 3-1 run brought the Trojans back to within one again at 20-19. Eichler and Roleder tied the set with another block. After a USC attack error, the Trojans streaked to match point with four straight for a 24-21. San Diego fought back as Ellick hit two straight, followed by Nyrop's kill to tie it at 24-24. Roleder and Garrett used USC's final block of the evening to put them back on match point before San Diego's attempt sailed long to give the Trojans the win. USC will play No. 7 seed Hawai'i in a second-round match tomorrow at 6 p.m. Hawai'i swept Belmont, 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 25-16), in first-round action earlier today. Kanani Danielson led the Rainbow Wahine with eight kills, hitting .368 (8-1-19), with five digs, one ace and one block assist. USD 25-12-19-24 USC 21-25-25-26 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament - First Round Match USC vs. San Diego Los Angeles, Calif. - Galen Center (USC) USC Head Coach Mick Haley "It was a different lineup and I thought we responded quite well. We have had good practices all week and I liked the way we competed tonight. I thought we had a pretty good performance from just about everybody who played. I'm pretty pleased and when they flipped the matchups in the fourth set, it set us back a little bit, but I liked the way we fought back at 20 and took the lead. I wish we would have finished it a 24-21, but good battle by us." "Kendall's (Bateman) game has been extremely good for the last three weeks. She's steadily been improving and we were just in system better with her. We were going to have Taylor [Carico] help us in the front row with the blocking. We got in a bad rut and the minute I kept Kendall in there, we were consistent almost the entire time and that's what we've been looking for." "Lauren [Williams] is fine. She is ready to go. She wants to get in there and bang the ball. It's just that Audrey [Eichler] has been coming on. She and Lauren have been supporting each other and Zoe and we just feel like we have some different options. We felt like Aubrey was a good matchup tonight, but Lauren would have been ready to go if we had needed her." "We are all about the team winning right now. It's not about the starters. We have side A and side B and whoever plays on side A has to get it done and side B is going to try to beat them and then root for them. That's just the way it has been all year and it is really nice to see the team maturing like this." On setters Taylor Carico and Kendall Bateman: "You don't want to mess with your setters too much. You want them to be a good team and feel confident. I think both of them feel good about their game and their contribution right now." On second-round match against Hawai'i: "I'm sure it will be a battle. It always is when Hawai'i and USC get together. I think Hawai'i will have a different makeup for a match with us than they did for their match with Belmont, so I don't think you can take much from the Belmont match. I haven't seen Hawai'i play that much but I know some of their players. They are doing some nice things defensively. They take advantage of some things. I think Belmont exposed some things early in the match, maybe we should take a look at that a little bit. If I'm a spectator, I'd want to get a ticket for this one because I think it will be a pretty good slugfest." "You have to understand that when we beat them 3-0 earlier this season, they didn't have (Ali) Troost and she is a good player. We did a great job on her late in this match. I'm so proud of the block in the back row because Troost can get her points, she is good at the net and she tried to shut down (Jessica) Gysin and Gysin was patient to open up some things, and I was really pleased with Jessica's performance." On 2006 regional match at Hawai'i when Hawai'i scored 11 straight points in fifth set to win: "Taylor and I probably remember that more than anybody else." "I remember Asia [Kaczor] hitting in the block about 12 times in a row in game five. Asia would tell you that she still remembers that too."
USC setter Kendall Bateman "It really helps to have everyone supporting me throughout the entire match and everyone has each other's backs throughout each game. Having Taylor support me even when she is not playing, I can hear her cheering on the sideline, really helps." USC middle blocker Audrey Eichler "Everyone wants to be out there on the court, but all you can do is bring it every single day in practice. It is definitely a great chance to be able to be out there on the court and contribute physically. We talk a lot about how everyone on the team contributes and about how everyone has a role, whether it's off the bench, cheering, or playing. I've just trying to do my part on the bench while still bringing my best effort in practice. I'm happily to finally get my chance." "We beat them 3-0 in the beginning of the year but, I think it made us take them a little more seriously. You can't go in thinking you're going to beat them because that's when you run into problems."
San Diego Head Coach Jennifer Petrie "It's a disappointing loss for us. We were hoping for a better outcome and, at times, I thought our team competed and played well and, at times, we didn't." "We had our opportunities. I think we got a little tight at the end of that game. We didn't have three options in three or four plays at the end of the game. We needed to step up and pass the ball so we can keep our offense rolling." On USC-Hawai'i match in second round tomorrow night: "I think they are very different, very different strengths. Hawaii does a nice job with their ball control and defensive game and USC is big. It will be a good matchup." San Diego right side Ali Troost "I felt tense. You feel the pressure, you really do, and I think it got to us." San Diego outside hitter Amy DeGroot "I think that even with the passes that weren't perfect passes, we still had chances. That goes to everybody. The hitters were taking low cuts, big blockers out there. Everything gets tight. It's the time to push and we didn't exactly have it in us." "Ali brings another option that we rely on a lot. Through the year, she has carried the load of our offense. I think that she did a great job tonight, and she did what she had to do." |
