Men's Volleyball
    No. 1 USC Men's Volleyball Opens 2011 With Sweep Over Alberta
    Tony Ciarelli has 12 kills and Murphy Troy adds 11.
    Henry Cassiday celebrates with USC teammates.
    Henry Cassiday celebrates with USC teammates.

    Jan. 5, 2011

    Box Score

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    Tony Ciarelli had 12 kills and 6 digs and Murphy Troy added 11 kills as the No. 1-ranked USC men's volleyball team opened its 2011 season with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-18 win in an exhibition match over Alberta, Canada's No. 2-ranked squad, on Wednesday (Jan. 5) at USC's Galen Center.

    Ciarelli hit a blazing .579 for the Trojans, who hit at a .385 clip as a team. Teammate Austin Zahn had 7 kills while hitting .545 and also had a match-best 5 blocks.

    Spencer Leiske led Alberta with 10 kills, while Jay Olmstead added 9 kills while hitting .643. The Golden Bears hit just .208 overall and were outblocked by the Trojans, 9.0 to 5.0.

    USC broke an 18-18 tie in the first set by scoring back-to-back points and Alberta couldn't close the gap. The Trojans broke away earlier in the second set, using consecutive points to build a 7-5 lead which eventually widened to 20-16 before Alberta closed to 21-20, but USC was able to hold on. It was all USC in the final set, as the Trojans got off to a 4-1 start and were never threatened.

    USC, which is No. 1 in the pre-season poll for the second consecutive year, next opens Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play with a pair of home matches next week against No. 12 Cal State Northridge on Jan. 12 and versus No. 11 Long Beach State on Jan. 14. Both matches start at 7 p.m.