VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS : Trojans Romp in First Round
In testimony to the disparity between the top few teams and everyone else in women’s volleyball, USC overpowered Radford, 15-2, 15-6, 15-1, in the first round of the NCAA tournament Wednesday night in the Lyon Center.
USC (22-8) will play defending NCAA champion Stanford (21-6) in a second-round match Saturday night at Stanford.
On Wednesday, in a match that lasted only 50 minutes, USC hit .440 to Radford’s .024.
A lack of height was the main problem confronting Radford. On average, USC’s starters were nearly 3 1/2 inches taller than Radford’s.
Meika Wagner, a 6-foot junior middle blocker, hit a career-high .769 and led USC with 11 kills.
The disparity between the top teams and everyone else has become more apparent this year since the tournament was expanded to 48 teams from 32, giving some conferences, such as the Big South, automatic berths for the first time. Radford (25-11), Big South champion, had not played a ranked team before No. 13 USC.
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