Women’s Volleyball: Anteaters mature in four-game loss to USC

Steve Virgen

CRAWFORD HALL - Freshman Dana Kurzbard of the UC Irvine women’s

volleyball team emphatically slammed the ball onto USC’s side of the net

for a game-winner and Chanda McLeod jumped so high she probably could

have cleared the volleyball net.

The Anteaters celebrated a 31-29 third-game victory and showed much

maturity to attain the win, but UCI fell in four games to USC, the No.

2-ranked team in the nation, Saturday at Crawford Hall in the Marriott

Sunset Showcase.

USC won 30-14, 30-16, 29-31, 30-20.

“We’re just so young,” Anteaters Coach Charlie Brande said of his

squad which features no seniors and at times has five freshmen on the

court. “We did some things very well. But the continual intensity wasn’t

always there.”

McLeod, one of the “oldest” players on the team and one of only two

juniors, slammed home 14 kills in the match and was instrumental in the

third-game victory. Freshman Kelly Wing also earned 14 kills, while

Ashlie Hain, another freshman, led with 31 assists. UCI sophomore Brenda

Waterman, a Newport Harbor High product, delivered 10 digs.

Trojan sophomore April Ross, another Newport Harbor product, compiled

11 kills as she sat out Game 3. Ross played despite the recent death of

her mother, Margie, who died of breast cancer Thursday (see adjacent

story).

USC Coach Mick Haley sat Ross in Game 3 because he said he wanted to

give his younger players an opportunity to finish the victory as the

Trojans are also a team of youth with just one senior, Jennifer Pahl, who

led with a match-high 15 kills.

The Trojans opened the match with a 30-14 win as they built on a 14-13

lead with 15 straight points as Keao Burdine served. Down 14-13, the

Anteaters were out of rotation, giving the point to USC and the Trojans

then scored 15 straight.

Ross later ended the game with a kill.

UCI’s victory in Game 3 came despite mistakes. The Anteaters (0-2)

lost four points on net serves or service shots that fell out of bounds.

Yet they overcame the errors and stayed with USC throughout as there were

16 ties and four lead changes.

The Trojans (1-0) earned match point, 29-28, gaining service and Haley

used his last substitution to bring in Pahl. But, McLeod fired a kill to

knot the score and freshman Sami Cash then placed an ace for the lead.

McLeod assisted Kurzbard’s kill for the win.

“(USC) didn’t lose that game,” Brande said. “We took it and we

aggressively won it.”

There were a lot of firsts on the night. It was the inaugural Marriott

Sunset Showcase and Brande said, the first of many. It was also the first

match for USC and subsequently the Trojans’ first match with rally

scoring style.

Earlier in the day, the Anteaters suffered a three-game loss to

Wisconsin, the No. 4 team in the nation, 30-25, 30-24, 30-16, in the

first match of the showcase.

The Badgers trailed in Game 2, 11-5, but they went on an 11-5 run to

tie the score at 16. Wisconsin kept the momentum and went on for the

sweep.

Wing finished with 12 kills and McLeod gained 11. Both players earned

a team-high seven digs.

Brande said his Anteaters were excited to play two teams ranked in the

top five in the nation.

“If we’re going to raise this program,” Brande said. “We have to play

the USCs and Wisconsins. This is good for us.”