Southern Cal Too Much For South Florida

TAMPA, Fla. -- University of Southern California middle blocker Jasmina Marinkovic had 18 kills to lead the Women of Troy past the University of South Florida 15-8, 15-5, 15-6 in a NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship second round match Saturday afternoon at the Sun Dome.

USC, the No. 5 seed in the Pacific Region, improved to 21-8 and moves on to the Pacific Regional and a likely date with Stanford next Friday at Palo Alto. Stanford, the top seed in the 48-team field, must get past Colorado State tonight, though.

USF, which earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament and was the region's No. 4 seed, closed its season 27-5.

Marinkovic, a sophomore from Serbia, compiled a .457 attack percentage with just two errors in 35 attempts. "We felt good, were ready to play and played well together," said Marinkovic.

USC controlled the match from the outset and its serving prevented USF from getting into an offense.

"They had a great crowd and we had to work to quiet them," said USC coach Lisa Love. "We did it by making few errors and effective serving. We took advantage of effective hitting and passing."

The Trojans hit .295 as a team and outblocked USF 15-5.

"USC passed very well," said Bull coach Perri Hankins. "When you get to this level all of the hitters are going to be good. It was hard for us to stop them on the block. USC is one of the best serving teams we have faced."

Paula Araujo led USF with 11 kills while Conference USA Player of the Year Erica Berggren had eight kills. The Bulls compiled just a .083 attack percentage.