Sept. 20, 1997

No. 8 USC Women's Volleyball Sweeps No. 15 Arizona for Ninth Straight Win

LOS ANGELES - The No. 8 USC women's volleyball team, led by junior middle blocker Jasmina Marinkovic's match-high 10 kills, coasted to its fourth consecutive sweep in defeating No. 15 Arizona, 15-1, 15-4, 15-3, in front of 705 at the North Gym on Saturday night.

Jasmina Marinkovic

USC improved to 9-0 overall, 2-0 in the Pac-10, its best start since opening 1991 with 11 consecutive wins. Arizona dropped to 9-1, 1-1.

Marinkovic, the nation's leader in hitting percentage, led another ferocious offensive performance by the Women of Troy. Her 10 kills came on 13 attempts without an error, good for a percentage of .769.

As a team, USC outhit Arizona .446 to .087. The Wildcats, led by freshman outside hitter Allison Napier's 5 kills, entered the match with a school-record-tying 9 straight wins. But they were shackled by USC all night.

The Women of Troy scored the first 9 points of Game 1 and cruised to an easy opening win. Arizona kept Game 2 tight for a short while, but USC again took control, leading 13-2 at one point, to go up 2-0.

USC enjoyed its highest game hitting percentage in Game 3, slugging .474, again dominating the previously unbeaten Wildcats.

Freshman outside hitter Shannon Redfern posted 7 service aces, a USC season high and only 1 shy of USC's record for a 3-game match.

USC opens the road portion of its Pac-10 schedule next weekend when it plays Washington State in Pullman on Friday (Sept. 26) and then Washington in Seattle on Saturday (Sept. 27). Both matches are at 7 p.m.