LOS ANGELES (AP) — Senior outside hitter Tony Ciarelli had 18 kills and 10 digs as Southern California off Lewis 3-1 in the NCAA men’s volleyball tournament to advance to Saturday’s title match against UC Irvine.
Top-seeded Irvine (25-5) defeated Penn State 3-1 in the earlier semifinal Thursday night at USC’s Galen Center.
Ciarelli, the national player of the year, hit .412 for the second-seeded Trojans (24-5), who took the first two sets before third-seeded Lewis mounted a challenge in the third.
Geoff Powell had 17 kills and nine digs for the Flyers (26-7), who got an automatic bid to the semis with a five-set victory over defending NCAA champion Ohio State 3-2 in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
Southern California has won four national championships, its last in 1990.
