Feb. 12, 1997

UC San Diego Stuns USC

SAN DIEGO - For the first time in school history, UC San Diego has defeated an NCAA Division I Top 10 team in men's volleyball.

Eric Mai's 36th kill of the night lifted the Tritons to the game-five victory, as UCSD downed 10th-ranked USC 15-10, 8-15, 16-14, 7-15, 15-13 at RIMAC Arena Wednesday night. Jon Yarris added 32 kills for the Tritons, who broke a 25-match winless streak in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play. The last Tritons victory in the MPSF came on April 18, 1995, against San Diego State.

UCSD, the only non-scholarship Division III team competing in the nation's strongest men's volleyball conference, has competed against MPSF opponents throughout the season, but entered the match with an 0-6 league record and 2-8 overall. In five years of MPSF competition, the Tritons have complied an overall record of 3-80.

Eric Seiffert and Chris Guigliano had 18 kills each for the Trojans, who fell to 6-4 on the season and 5-2 in MPSF action. USC entered Wednesday's match as the top team in the Pacific Division of the MPSF, coming off impressive wins over No. 1 Stanford, previously second-ranked BYU and No. 11 Pacific.

The win over USC marked the first league win for first-year Tritons coach Duncan McFarland, who took over the head coaching position in the fall of 1996.

Matt Minehan and Guy Mount added 12 kills each for the Tritons, who improved to 3-8 overall and 1-6 in MPSF play. Setter Satao Minami had a career-high 82 assists for UCSD.