Nov. 21, 1997

USC Falls to No. 9 Arizona in Five Games

TUCSON, Ariz.--- No. 9 Arizona clinched its best-ever Pac-10 record with its 12th league win of the season, a 10-15, 16-14, 15-12, 5-15, 15-13 victory over seventh-ranked Southern California here Friday night. The Cats improved to 20-5 overall and 12-5 in the conference, while the Trojans fell to 20-5, 12-5.

Arizona's previous best Pac-10 mark came in 1993 when UA went 11-7 and tied for fourth in the league. With a win Saturday night in the Cats' regular-season finale against No. 25 UCLA, Arizona would tie for second in the conference and register its top conference finish ever. Tomorrow's contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST.

The Cats have won nine consecutive five-game matches dating back to last season, including a 6- 0 mark in 1997.

Senior Carrie Penfield led the Wildcats with 14 kills and set a team season high and individual career high in digs with 24, while sophomore Erin Aldrich and freshman Allison Napier had 10 kills apiece.

For the Trojans, sophomore Jasmina Marinkovic had 21 kills, while junior Jennifer Kessy posted 20 kills and 31 digs.