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Sept. 2, 2002
Muncie, Ind. -- The No. 3-ranked USC women's volleyball team was not going to be stopped as they fought back from an 11-point deficit in the third game to upset the second-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers, 30-26, 30-19, 32-30, on Monday (Sept. 2) in Muncie, Ind. Improving to 3-0 this season, the Women of Troy claimed the Radisson Hotel Roberts/Nike Classic tournament title. Nebraska is now 2-1 this season.
Pitting the No. 2 and 3 teams against each other produced a fast-paced match complete with long rallys and well-played points. As USC and Nebraska alternated points for much of the first game, the Trojans took advantage of two three-point rallys to establish a lead. Ahead by as much as five points (20-15) the Women of Troy used a powerful right-side attack, led by senior Lauren Killian and sophomore Alicia Robinson, to hold on to the lead and take the first game, 30-26. Killian had five kills off of eight attacks (.500) in game one, while Robinson had six kills off of nine attacks (.444).
The Huskers took a lesson from the Trojans and used a four-point rally to quickly jump out to a 5-1 lead in game two. But Nebraska's advantage did not last long. USC climbed back point-by-point and evened the score at nine and 10 points apiece. With outside hitter Keao Burdine at the service line, the Women of Troy took command by scoring nine-straight thanks to four Nebraska errors and three key blocks by junior Katie Olsovsky. USC rolled to a 30-19 win in game two.
Nebraska was not going to go down without a fight and rattled the Trojans at the start of game three. Up 11-7, the Huskers scored the next 9-of-11 points to take an 11-point lead (20-9). After taking two timeouts to try and halt the Husker momentum, the Women of Troy returned to the court and began climbing back. With two four-point USC rallys, the Husker lead began to diminish. Just as Nebraska was on the verge of reaching game point (28-25), the Trojans knotted the score at 28-28, then again at 29-29 and 30-30. Before fans realized the game momentum had shifted, Robinson and Olsovsky blocked a Husker attack and Olsovsky finished the match by stopping Nebraska's Anna Schrad on a solo block for a 32-30 USC win.
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Robinson and Burdine led USC with 12 kills apiece, while April Ross posted 11. Olsovsky posted a match-high six blocks. Setter Toni Anderson and Tracy Lindquist tallied 28 and 20 assists, respectively, for the match.
The Women of Troy will now return home to prepare for the BYU Mizuno Classic. The team will travel to Provo, Utah, to face No. 23 BYU, Wake Forest and No. 7 Florida on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 5-6.
