USC outside hitter Tony Ciarelli, who will lead the Trojans in the NCAA men's volleyball Final Four, was announced as the national player of the year by the American Volleyball Coaches Assn.
Ciarelli, a 6-foot-6 senior from Huntington Beach, became the second consecutive USC player to win the award. Former Trojan Murphy Troy won in 2011.
Ciarelli is the sixth USC player to be selected player of the year, joining Adam Johnson, who won in 1986, Tom Duke (1988), Bryan Ivie (1990 and 1991), Donald Suxho (2000) and Troy.
Ciarelli leads the nation in aces and is fifth in kills.
The Trojans, regular-season champion of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, received an at-large berth in the Final Four after losing to UC Irvine in the MPSF tournament semifinals.
Second-seeded USC, which won its last NCAA title in 1990, plays third-seeded Lewis University on Thursday night at the Galen Center at 8 p.m. Top-seeded Irvine plays fourth-seeded Penn State in the other semifinal at 6. Winners advance to Saturday’s championship match.
--Gary Klein
