USC
*at Long Beach St
Trojans Fall To No. 1 49ers
February 19, 2004 | Men's Volleyball
Feb. 19, 2004
Long Beach, CA - (courtesy of LBSU athletics) The No. 1-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team defeated the USC Trojans, 3-0, in an MPSF match at The Pyramid on Thursday night. Game scores were 30-23, 32-30, 30-26.
Long Beach State improved to 12-3 (7-2 MPSF), while USC fell to 3-12 (2-7 MPSF). The win marked the fourth straight three-game sweep by the 49ers over an opponent.
Scott Touzinsky paced The Beach with 13 kills, while adding seven digs as well. Jeff Wootton, Nate Hagstrom, and Duncan Budinger all registered 12 kills each. In fact it was a career-high 12 kills for Hagstrom, who also added a team-high 10 digs, and two aces. Tyler Hildebrand, the Nation's No. 1 setter in assists per game, netted a match-high 49, with five digs and three blocks. David Lee added six kills, two aces, and three blocks. Blake Tippett led the Trojans with 10 kills. Pedro Leal recorded eight kills, and Joao Grangeiro, seven kills in the losing effort.
Long Beach State pulled away late with an 8-3 run (after the score was 22-20) for the 30-23 game one victory. Budinger registered six kills in the frame to pace The Beach, while Hagstrom, Lee, and Touzinsky each recorded three kills each. Despite hitting just .290 (17-8-31), LBSU limited the Trojans to an even lower clip at .083 (9-7-24). USC managed to out-block the 49ers, 6.5-3.5. Tippett led USC with four kills.
The 49ers took a 2-0 match lead with a 32-30 game two victory. Two straight Hagstrom kills, after the score was knotted at 30-30, propelled the 49er victory. By the end of the frame Hagstrom had amassed eight kills. Wootton added six more kills, as well. Long Beach State called a timeout after the Trojans took a 25-23 advantage, and responded with three straight points, including kills by Wootton and Lee to take a 26-25 lead. USC managed to fight off two game points at 29-27 (after a Grangeiro kill) and 29-28, after a 49er attack error. Leal led the Trojans with four kills in the set.
LBSU closed out the Trojans, 30-26, in game three on a Lee service ace.
