WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL / NCAA TOURNAMENT : USC Goes Against Radford

The USC women’s volleyball team will play host to Radford in a first-round NCAA tournament match tonight at 7 in the Lyon Center.

USC (21-8), seeking its first NCAA championship since 1981, has been up and down thisseason.

The Trojans lost an early match at unranked Oregon State, but also defeated two teams that at the time were ranked No. 1, Stanford and Long Beach State.

The Trojans are led by All-American outside hitter Katie Haller, who led the Pacific 10 Conference with 4.1 digs per game and leads USC with 4.1 kills per game. USC Coach Lisa Love hopes to have Haller’s undivided attention for the match. Earlier in the day, Haller will be interviewed as part of her application for a Rhodes Scholarship.

Because of injuries, the Trojans had only nine players at Hawaii last week, when they won two matches against the Rainbows.

Key for USC will be the play of Kelly Kuebler, a sophomore outside hitter who has been hampered all season by a sprained big toe.

Radford, of Virginia, advanced to the NCAA tournament by winning the Big South Conference tournament on Nov. 13, earning the conference’s automatic berth.

The Lady Highlanders (25-10) are led by senior outside hitter Anne Fontaine with 2.95 kills and 3.9 digs per game.

It is the first time Radford has advanced to the tournament since the school moved to Division I in 1984.

Radford’s only other appearance in an NCAA tournament was when its women’s soccer team advanced to the NCAA tournament in 1985.

Tonight’s winner plays at Stanford (21-6) in a second-round match Saturday at 7:30 p.m.