Jan. 16, 2004

Box Score

LOS ANGELES - Scott Touzinsky had 20 kills and Jeff Wootton added 15 kills to lead the No. 6-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team to a 30-28, 30-22, 30-19 win over No. 15 USC in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener for both teams on Friday (Jan. 16) in USC's North Gym.

Long Beach State improved to 5-1 overall, while USC-in its home opener-fell to 1-3.

Touzinsky and Wooton each hit .571, with Touzinsky adding 6 digs and 4 kills. Teammate David Lee had 6 blocks.

The 49ers outhit USC, .395 to .157, while also getting more blocks (9.0 to 5.0) and digs (27 to 17).

The Trojans, who had 17 serving errors, were led by Joao Grangeiro and Blake Tippett, each with 8 kills.

Chris McKniff added 5 kills (hitting .400) and 3 blocks.

USC led 24-22 in the first game, but the 49ers tied it at 24 all. Then, with the score knotted at 27-27, consecutive kills by Touzinsky and Wootton gave LBSU the cushion it needed. The teams both hit above .400 in that opening game before cooling off in the next one. The 49ers scored 4 points in a row to open up a 17-13 lead in game two and were never threatened. In the third game, LBSU jumped out to a 6-1 lead and hit .433 to USC's -.133 to close out the match.

The match was scheduled to be played at USC's Lyon Center, but a lighting malfunction forced a last-minute move to the North Gym.

USC next hosts UC San Diego on Saturday (Jan. 17) in another MPSF match. It will be played in the North Gym at 7 p.m.