USC Goes Against Former Coach

Opposing coaches have tried all season, without much success, to stop the top-ranked USC women’s volleyball team.

Tonight, a former Trojan coach will take his best shot.

Chuck Erbe, who had a 310-121-3 record in two stints as USC’s coach (1976-77 and 1979-88), is coach of Michigan State, which will face the Trojans in a semifinal of the NCAA West Regional at UC Santa Barbara.

Erbe, in his 10th season at Michigan State, guided USC to Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national titles in 1976, ’77 and ’80. He also was at the Trojans’ helm in 1981, when they won the first and only NCAA championship.

The top-seeded Trojans and unseeded Spartans play at 5 p.m. Eighth-seeded UC Santa Barbara plays ninth-seeded Pepperdine at 7 p.m. The winners will play in the regional final at 7 p.m. Friday.

USC (27-1), under second-year Coach Mick Haley, has won eight consecutive matches, including playoff sweeps of the University of San Diego and Texas A&M.;

“For the most part, we’ve had the bull’s-eye on us all year,” Haley said.

Pepperdine (25-6) has a school-record 16-match winning streak. Santa Barbara (30-2) has lost only to Pepperdine and USC.

-- Lauren Peterson