No. 1 BYU Defeat USC to Win MPSF Tournament Title

PROVO, UTAH - No. 1 BYU (28-1) captured its first-ever MPSF Tournament title with a 3-1 win over No. 7 USC (17-11) on Saturday. Playing in front of 5,558 fans in the Smith Fieldhouse, the Cougars overcame a game-one loss, 14-16, to win three straight, 15-9, 15-8, 15-11, and earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Final Four in Los Angeles next week.

"They [USC] gave us a lot of trouble," BYU head coach Carl McGown said. "USC is a good team and that was a very good volleyball match. This match should help prepare us for the NCAAs. There are no easy matches now, just battles."

BYU was led by All-American Ossie Antonetti who tallied a team-best 34 kills on 65 swings. Antonetti hit 36.9 percent, while adding six blocks. All-American teammate Ryan Millar became the Cougars' all-time single-season block assist leader, adding a game-high 14 to his season total. Millar totaled a match-high 16 blocks on the night and added 19 kills on 34 attempts. BYU out-blocked USC 43-21 on the night. Ingo Lindemann came off the bench to record 13 kills and combined with Rich Lambourne to record 22 kills.

USC's Brook Billings and Eli Fairfield combined for 69 of the Trojan's 102 kills, with 37 and 32 respectively. Setter Donald Suxho recorded a match-high 92 assists and 12 digs.