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Volleyball Advances To NCAA Regionals With LMU Sweep
Women of Troy defeat Lions; prepare to face Texas A&M.

Dec. 6, 2003

LOS ANGELES - Four players contributed double digit scoring as the No.
1-ranked USC women's volleyball team defeated 15th-ranked Loyola
Marymount, 3-0 (30-16, 30-22, 30-16), in the NCAA Second Round played
at the Lyon Center on Saturday night.

With the win, the Women of Troy advance to the regional semifinal at
Lincoln, Neb., and will face 24th-ranked and 16th-seeded Texas A&M on
Friday, Dec. 12, at 4:30 p.m. CST.

Loyola Marymount concludes its season with a 26-7 overall record. The
Trojans improve to 31-0, keeping their 43-match win streak alive. USC
is now just one win shy of tying the NCAA record for consecutive
matches won (Penn State holds the current record with 44 straight wins
in 1990).

Bibiana Candelas, April Ross, Katie Olsovsky and Emily Adams all
posted doubles figures in the three-game match. Candelas led with 15.5
points thanks to five blocks and 13 kills, in addition to hitting at a
..500 clip. Ross had 14.5 points, a match-best 14 kills, 13 digs and a
..520 attack effort. Adams and Olsovsky each had an identical 12
points, nine kills and five blocks.

The Lions' Dina DeBernardi and Nicole Oehlman were the only two LMU
players to hit above .200 in the match. DeBernardi led with a
team-high nine kills and .348 attack percentage, while Oehlman posted
a .300 hitting percentage and four kills. Both players scored 10.5
points in the outing.

USC's size and depth was just too much for Loyola Marymount to combat.
The Women of Troy out-hit (.431 to .126), out-blocked (12.5 to 5.5)
and out-dug (54 to 35) the Lions, as they easily swept LMU in front of
1,213 at the Lyon Center.

"I've been a coach for 14 years and that is by far the best team I
have ever played against," said LMU head coach Steve Stratos. "They're
well-coached, they're huge and I wish them the best. We had a great
season and I'm proud of our athletes."

"That was an extremely fine job by our team tonight against a very
good team," said USC head coach Mick Haley. "We are excited for the
next round and looking forward playing Texas A&M in front of the great
crowd Nebraska will attract."

If USC advances to the regional final, the Trojans will face the
winner of a UCLA -Nebraska semifinal.


NCAA Second Round Quotes

USC Head Coach Mick Haley
"That was an extremely fine job by our team against a very good team.
We played great defense. It's hard to make the adjustments and changes
our team did today. I'm tickled by the effort of this team."

(On playing in Nebraska in the next round)
"Nebraska draws 4,500 a night. That's kind of exciting to go and play
at a place like that. We have played just about every place. We're
kind of excited to go and do this."

(On Texas A&M)
"They played us tough last time. They'll be tough. That will be a good
game."

USC outside hitter April Ross
(On playing her final home game at USC) "After the game was over, I
got a little teary. But there's still a lot of the season left."

USC middle blocker Bibiana Candelas
"Our team played well. I'm looking forward to advancing to regionals."

USC middle blocker Katie Olsovsky
"This year we're using our championship experience to our advantage.
We only had three seniors graduate last year, so we're really strong
all around."

(On having to travel to Nebraska in the next round)
"The only thing you can do is use it to your advantage. They have a
really good crowd."

Loyola Marymount Head Coach Steve Strattos
"We had a great season. I'm proud of our athletes. It's a great group
of girls."

"I've been a coach for 14 years and that is by far the best team I
have ever played against. They're well-coached, they're huge and I
wish them the best."

LMU middle blocker Tiana Newsome
(On the difference between this year's LMU playoff team and the team
of two years ago)
"This team is more mature. We're used to each other's styles, this
team is better than our freshman year."

LMU outside hitter Kelani Kimball
"We're not used to a team of [USC's] caliber. We came out excited and
bad things happened."

"It's nice to go down to No. 1. They're an awesome team. It's nice
that we had an opportunity to play them."

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