Volleyball | USC takes UW to final game for win
LOS ANGELES - Behind a Pac-10 record 44 kills from Asia Kaczor, the No. 8 USC Trojans staged a comeback against No. 5 Washington, rallying from two games down to win 25-30, 29-31, 32-30, 30-27, 18-16 at the Galen Center on Friday night.
USC won Games 3, 4 and 5 to improve to 22-4 overall and 11-4 in the Pac-10. Washington drops to 23-3 and 12-3 in the Pac-10.
In a battle of two of the nation’s best outside hitters, Kaczor tallied 44 kills and Washington’s Christal Morrison netted 30 kills, setting a new career high. Both were All-Americans last year.
USC took control early in the final game, opening a 6-2 lead before Washington stormed back, eventually taking a 12-11 lead on a kill by Morrison. A Trojans attack error put UW up 13-12, but USC scored two consecutive points to regain the lead at 14-13.
Washington took the first game and then rallied late for a Game 2 win.
USC outhit the Huskies in Game 1, .220 to .205, but Washington benefited from six USC service errors on its way to the win. Alesha Deesing scored the first point of the game on a kill and had four of the Huskies’ first 10 kills. Washington took its biggest lead at 19-12 on an ace by Stevie Mussie.
Morrison tallied 14 digs for her 11th double-double of the year. She had 77 attacks. Deesing had a season-high 13 kills and tied her record with 11 blocks.