Thursday, April 18
Malibu, Calif.
7:30 PM
USC
3
vs
1
UCLA
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's Volleyball
Photo by: John McGillen/USC Athletics
No. 5 USC Men's Volleyball Beats No. 6 UCLA In MPSF Tourney Semifinal
April 18, 2019 | Men's Volleyball, Features
Jack Wyett had 21 kills while hitting .581 to lead the No. 5-ranked USC men's volleyball team to a 25-21, 25-18, 25-27, 25-23 win over No. 6 UCLA in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament semifinal match on Thursday (April 18) at Pepperdine.
USC improved to 18-9 overall and has won 11 of its last 13 matches. It was Troy's second win over the Bruins in 3 meetings in 2019, giving USC 10 points in the schools' annual Crosstown Cup all-sports competition, and the first time USC has posted back-to-back victories over UCLA since 2011. The Trojans now are 5-1 on neutral courts this season.
UCLA fell to 19-9 overall.
The Trojans now advance to the MPSF tourney championship match against host No. 4 Pepperdine (21-6) on Saturday (April 20) at 7 p.m. PT. The Waves, who swept BYU in the other semifinal match, are the tourney's top seed, while the Trojans are the third seed. Last year, USC defeated Pepperdine in Malibu in an MPSF Tournament quarterfinal match.
The MPSF tourney champ will get an automatic bid into the upcoming 7-team NCAA Championship, while the runner-up will be in the running for an at-large bid into the NCAAs.
USC will be looking for just its second MPSF Tournament championship, with the first coming in 2009. Overall dating to 1971, USC has won conference or regional championships.
USC hit .350 in the match to UCLA's .241. The Bruins served 7 aces.
Gianluca Grasso added 11 kills, 8 digs and 3 aces for USC, while Ryan Moss had 9 killls, 5 digs and 3 blocks and Matt Douglas had 11 digs.
Dylan Missry led UCLA with 14 kills (hitting .462), Dylan Gyimah added 10 kills and Micah Ma'a had 8 kills and 3 aces.
USC steadily marched out to a 14-9 lead in the first set, but UCLA then scored 8 of the next 10 points to move ahead 17-16 before USC restored order by going on a 3-point run to move ahead 22-19, all the cushion it needed to capture the set. USC got off to a quick 7-5 lead in the second set and built it to 17-13, a margin the Bruins could not overcome as Troy hit .522 in the set. USC forged a 9-5 margin in the third set but UCLA tied it at 13-13 and moved ahead at 15-14, however the Trojans fought back to go up 20-18 only to see the Bruins keep tying it back up before UCLA captured the set's final 2 points. UCLA used a 4-point run to go up 8-6 in the fourth set and then moved out to a 13-7 edge, but soon after USC scored 9 unanswered points to re-take the lead at 19-16, however UCLA caught up at 21-21 before USC steadied itself by scoring 3 of the final 4 points for the win.
USC improved to 18-9 overall and has won 11 of its last 13 matches. It was Troy's second win over the Bruins in 3 meetings in 2019, giving USC 10 points in the schools' annual Crosstown Cup all-sports competition, and the first time USC has posted back-to-back victories over UCLA since 2011. The Trojans now are 5-1 on neutral courts this season.
UCLA fell to 19-9 overall.
The Trojans now advance to the MPSF tourney championship match against host No. 4 Pepperdine (21-6) on Saturday (April 20) at 7 p.m. PT. The Waves, who swept BYU in the other semifinal match, are the tourney's top seed, while the Trojans are the third seed. Last year, USC defeated Pepperdine in Malibu in an MPSF Tournament quarterfinal match.
The MPSF tourney champ will get an automatic bid into the upcoming 7-team NCAA Championship, while the runner-up will be in the running for an at-large bid into the NCAAs.
USC will be looking for just its second MPSF Tournament championship, with the first coming in 2009. Overall dating to 1971, USC has won conference or regional championships.
USC hit .350 in the match to UCLA's .241. The Bruins served 7 aces.
Gianluca Grasso added 11 kills, 8 digs and 3 aces for USC, while Ryan Moss had 9 killls, 5 digs and 3 blocks and Matt Douglas had 11 digs.
Dylan Missry led UCLA with 14 kills (hitting .462), Dylan Gyimah added 10 kills and Micah Ma'a had 8 kills and 3 aces.
USC steadily marched out to a 14-9 lead in the first set, but UCLA then scored 8 of the next 10 points to move ahead 17-16 before USC restored order by going on a 3-point run to move ahead 22-19, all the cushion it needed to capture the set. USC got off to a quick 7-5 lead in the second set and built it to 17-13, a margin the Bruins could not overcome as Troy hit .522 in the set. USC forged a 9-5 margin in the third set but UCLA tied it at 13-13 and moved ahead at 15-14, however the Trojans fought back to go up 20-18 only to see the Bruins keep tying it back up before UCLA captured the set's final 2 points. UCLA used a 4-point run to go up 8-6 in the fourth set and then moved out to a 13-7 edge, but soon after USC scored 9 unanswered points to re-take the lead at 19-16, however UCLA caught up at 21-21 before USC steadied itself by scoring 3 of the final 4 points for the win.
Men's Volleyball - USC 1, Pepperdine 3: Highlights (04/26/25)
Saturday, April 26
Men's Volleyball - USC 3, Stanford 1: Highlights (04/25/25)
Friday, April 25
Men's Volleyball - USC 3, UCLA 0: Highlights (04/19/25)
Saturday, April 19
Men's Volleyball - USC 2, UCLA 3: Highlights (04/17/25)
Thursday, April 17
