No. 10 USC Men's Volleyball Tops No. 12 UCSB in Five-Set Home Opener

Thursday, January 19

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM

USC

5-2,0-0MPSF

UC Santa Barbara

1-5,0-0Big West

UC Santa Barbara

Southern California

Photo by: Jenny Chuang

No. 10 USC Men's Volleyball Tops No. 12 UCSB in Five-Set Home Opener

January 19, 2023 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

The Trojans set a new home-opener attendance record in a 3-2 win over the Gauchos at Galen Center

LOS ANGELES – The 10th-ranked USC men's volleyball team (5-2) defeated No. 12 UC Santa Barbara (1-5) in five sets (21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 18-25, 15-12) at Galen Center on Thursday, Jan. 19. The Trojans improved to 41-13 all-time in home openers and set a program record for attendance in a home opener with 1,508 fans in the arena.

KEY PLAYERS

Fr. OH Dillon Klein reached double-digit kills in his fifth straight match and led all scorers with 20 kills to go with four blocks (one solo) and three digs.
Gr. OH Kevin Kobrine had 16.0 points with 15 kills and recorded his first double-double as a Trojan with 13 digs.
Jr. OPP Simon Gallas collected 11 kills with six digs, three blocks, and two of USC's three service aces on the night.
Jr. MB Kyle Paulson had a team-high six blocks (one solo) and added three kills and the other service ace.
Fr. S Ryan Sprague came off the bench and dished out 30 assists to go with 12 digs for his first collegiate double-double.
Sr. LIB George Dyer posted career highs with 14 digs and eight assists.
For the Gauchos, Ryan Wilcox led with 13 kills and added eight digs. Dayne Chalmers had 11 kills with 12 digs for the double-double. Nick Amoruso put up 10 kills (1e, 21att) and hit .429.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USC led just once in the opening set (10-9) before UCSB won, 25-21. Wilcox and Chalmers each contributed five kills apiece as the Gauchos hit .286 in the frame. USC got five kills from Klein and four from Kobrine with .273 hitting.
The score was tied 11 times in set two. The Gauchos led by as many as five points, but the Trojans stayed within striking distance and claimed their first lead at 22-21 before closing out a 25-22 victory to even the match. Klein, Paulson, and Kobrine each tallied three kills apiece in the second set.
UCSB led by three several times early in the third, but USC used a 6-0 run to go on top, 15-12, and sewed up another 25-22 win to go ahead, 2-1. Klein and Gallas each added four kills to their total and Gallas' two service aces topped off the big mid-set run for the Trojans. USC dug up eight balls in the third set alone with five from Sprague.
Despite nine ties in the fourth set, USC never led as the Gauchos completed a 25-18 win to force set five. Klein added five more kills and Gallas chipped in four, but UCSB hit .462 in the fourth with six kills from Amoruso.
Klein and Kobrine each scored three kills apiece in the fifth; and Sprague dug five more balls to help the Trojans claim a 15-12 win. USC led, 5-1, early on, but the Gauchos erased a four-point hole at 10-6 with a 5-0 run and led momentarily. The Trojans responded with a 4-0 run to claim match point (14-11) before finishing things off.

UP NEXT

USC takes on CSUN on Wednesday (Jan. 25) at 7 p.m. PT at the Matadome in Northridge, Calif. The Trojans claimed a 3-0 win over the Matadors on Jan. 6 in the ASICS Invitational. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 59-57 all-time against UC Santa Barbara and avenged a loss to the Gauchos in the season opener (Jan. 5) in Santa Barbara, Calif.
The Trojans played back-to-back five-setters and improved to 2-1 in five-set matches this season.
USC goes to 41-13 all-time in home openers with a 6-2 mark under eighth-year head coach Jeff Nygaard. USC also defeated UCSB in a home opener in 1984.
The Trojans' 65 digs were a season-high mark with three players in double digits.

For more information on the USC men's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/MVB. Fans of the Trojans can follow @USCmensvolley on Twitter and Instagram.