WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: USC SOLID IN TOURNEY WIN WOMEN OF TROY TO TAKE ON BYU.

Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News

Asia Kaczor moved closer to USC's single-season kills record, Debora Seilhamer continued her assault on the Pacific-10 Conference's career digs mark and the Women of Troy demonstrated the depth necessary to make a run at the program's seventh women's volleyball national championship.

Kaczor, a junior outside hitter, led four USC players in double-figure kills and Seilhamer recorded a match-high 23 digs as the host Women of Troy recorded their 15th consecutive first-round victory in the NCAA Tournament with a 30-17, 30-24, 30-23 triumph Thursday night over Mississippi at the Galen Center.

Fifth-seeded USC (26-4) will face Brigham Young (25-5), a five-game winner over UC Santa Barbara (19-12), at 7p.m. today in a second-round contest. The winner advances to the Sweet 16 at the Honolulu Regional on Dec. 8.

``We just had to stay focused and not use any extra energy,'' said Kaczor, a Pac-10 first-team honoree who finished with 15kills to increase her season total to 526, trailing only Jennifer (Kessy) Boss' 1998 mark of 554.

Kaczor recorded seven kills in the final game to help the Women of Troy improve to 3-0 all-time against the Rebels (19-13), including victories in the AIAW playoffs in 1977-78.

Diane Copenhagen recorded 14 kills, Jessica Gysin added 10kills and eight digs, and Kelli Tennant contributed 10 kills and seven blocks for USC.

``After watching BYU and Santa Barbara, I knew we needed to keep pushing and keep up the intensity,'' USC coach Mick Haley said. ``We got some nice runs and we got some big leads and it's hard to be aggressive when you're playing from behind.''

Mississippi pulled within 21-17 in the second game and got as close as five points late in the third, but Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Taylor Carico continued to move the Rebels' block around, finishing with 38 assists.

Carico improved her USC freshman single-season record to 1,347 assists and also ascended to the third-highest single-season total in program history. Seilhamer improved her career digs mark to 2,032.

BYU 3, UC Santa Barbara 2: Chelsea Goodman had 26 kills, including 13 in the final two games, as the Cougars rallied from a two-game deficit and a four-point hole early in the third to record a 27-30, 30-32, 30-27, 30-21, 15-12 victory.

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