USC
Long Beach St
Trojans Defeated By No. 5 Long Beach State
January 28, 2003 | Men's Volleyball
Jan. 28, 2003
LONG BEACH, CA - The No. 5 ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the USC Trojans, 3-2, Tuesday night at The Pyramid. Game scores were 30-28, 18-30, 28-30, 30-25, 15-10.
Long Beach State improved to 7-2 (3-1 MPSF), while USC fell to 1-6 (0-4 MPSF).
Jeff Wootton led the way with a match-high 22 kills for Long Beach State. He scored his first double-double of the season after adding 10 digs, as well. Scott Touzinsky and Duncan Budinger combined for 24 kills. David Lee added 11 kills. Blake Tippett (14 kills), Mark Dusharme (14 kills), Josh Day (13 kills), and Ian Gallagher (13 kills) all led USC offensively.
Down 27-24 in game one, Long Beach State rallied late in the frame after a Clint Coe service ace, and a USC net violation to take the 30-28 victory. Sliti paced The Beach with seven kills in the set, while Wootton and Lee each contributed with three kills apiece. As a team, LBSU connected for 16 kills on 30 attempts for a .267 hitting percentage. Dusharme and Day led the Trojans with three kills.
The Trojans opened up with a 7-1 run to start game two, and built a lead as big as 12 points to close out the 49ers, 30-18. Day and Gallagher came alive for USC, registering four kills each. As a team, USC posted 14 kills on 20 attempts (one error) for a .650 attack percentage. LBSU hurt themselves, committing nine attack errors, which resulted in a .100 hitting percentage. USC out-blocked LBSU, 8-0.
USC withstood a late charge by Long Beach State to take game three, 30-28. The Trojans continued to dominate the net, registering six more blocks to raise their match total to 25 block assists. By the end of the set, Tippett, Dusharme, Day, and Gallagher all had nine kills each. Wootton paced LBSU with six kills in the frame.
LBSU forced a fifth and deciding game after downing the Trojans 30-25 in the fourth frame. Wootton sizzled in the set, registering nine kills to raise his match total to 19. Touzinsky chipped in with five kills. As a team, the 49ers posted 22 kills. Tippett, Dusharme, Day, and Gallagher all reached double-digits in kills at the end of the set, and accounted for 49 of USC?s 57 kills through four games.
Wootton had the final kill of the match to seal the 15-10 LBSU victory.
