USC ready for season finale versus UCLA

The USC men’s volleyball team concludes its season on Friday, squaring off against crosstown rival UCLA ahead of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoff tournament set to begin Saturday, April 20.

Last chance · Junior Tanner Jansen (above) and the Trojans have the opportunity to hurt UCLA’s seeding in the MPSF playoffs. – Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan

The 2013 campaign marks a drastic change of fortunes for the Trojans, who are on the outside of the playoff bubble after winning a berth in the NCAA championship game in 2012. The club has followed up last season’s 26-7 record with a disappointing 6-17 mark and is coming off a 3-1 loss to UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday (23-25, 19-25, 25-21, 17-25).

The Trojans were once again led by sophomore outside hitter Cristian Rivera, who notched 19 kills. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Austin Rysyk also reached double figures with 11 kills, while graduating senior libero J.B. Green added 12 digs in his second consecutive start.

However, USC was once again outdone in each of the major statistical categories, as the Gauchos registered significantly more blocks (16 to six) and digs (42 to 38) while hitting .259 to USC’s .135.

The loss marked the fourth consecutive time the Trojans lost their immediate game following a win, as they failed to capitalize upon a resounding 3-0 sweep of Cal State Northridge Saturday on senior night. USC head coach Bill Ferguson heaped considerable praise upon Green and setter Chris Trefzger, the team’s two seniors, whose presence in the starting lineup invigorated a struggling Trojan squad.

“Our team, player by player, has a ton of respect for them and rallied around them to play well,” Ferguson said. “It was the first time this season that all three pin attackers hit above .300. We had more service errors than I would have liked, but we generally served well and that allowed us to block and dig more.”

Though the losses of Trefzger and Green won’t affect the team as drastically as last year’s departures of All-Americans Tony Ciarelli and Steven Shandrick, Ferguson made no attempt to downplay the significance of senior night for his two seniors and their impact on the team’s performance.

“It’s always tough, especially with guys like J.B. and Chris, who do everything the right way and don’t get as many opportunities as the other guys,” Ferguson said. “Our team is better for having had those guys, and though they’re not on the floor as much, both I and the team have been better with those guys involved in our program.”

With a playoff spot already clinched, UCLA will look to improve its seeding, while the Trojans are left to play the role of spoiler to disrupt the Bruins’ game plan in whatever manner possible.

“We didn’t have great matchups against [UCSB and UCLA] the first time, and we were pretty beat up during that stretch,” Ferguson said. “We didn’t do well enough and as a group we can give them a better match.”

Regardless of the positioning of the match, Ferguson promises to have his guys ready to face a hard-charging UCLA squad.

“I always say that if you can’t get up for that match, you don’t have a pulse,” Ferguson said. “They’re fighting to be in the top half of the playoff bracket. We don’t have anything after that match, so it will keep us motivated and working hard so that we can continue the great rivalry.”