No. 12 USC Men's Volleyball Drops MPSF Opener to No. 5 Grand Canyon

Wednesday, February 15

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM

USC

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Katie Chin

No. 12 USC Men's Volleyball Drops MPSF Opener to No. 5 Grand Canyon

February 15, 2023 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

The Trojans had three players in double-digit kills in a four-set loss to the Lopes

LOS ANGELES – The 12th-ranked USC men's volleyball team (6-5, 0-1 MPSF) fell to No. 5 Grand Canyon (12-0, 1-0) in four sets (25-21, 25-22, 26-28, 25-22) in the Trojans' Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener at Galen Center on Wednesday, Feb. 15.

KEY PLAYERS

Fr. OH Dillon Klein posted his eighth match in double-digit kills and had his ninth in double-digit points with 20.5 on 17 kills (7e, 30att, .333) to go with eight digs and a career-best six blocks (one solo).
Sr. OPP Simon Gallas put up 12 kills for his fifth match in double-digits and added four digs and two blocks.
Jr. S Nate Tennant dished out 34 assists and had nine digs and one of three USC service aces.
Gr. OH Kevin Kobrine recorded 10 kills (3e, 22att, .318) with seven digs and four blocks.
Redshirt Fr. MB Teddy Terrill started the match and posted a career-high seven blocks (one solo) with two kills.
For the Lopes, Christian Janke led with 14 kills but hit just .059 with 12 errors on 34 swings. Jackson Hickman had 12 kills (2e, 26att, .385) with two blocks. Nicholas Slight put up 39 assists with eight digs and two blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Trojans had more kills (51-49), out-hit the Lopes, .239 to .207, and had a season-high 14.5 blocks over GCU's 10.5. USC also had the edge in assists, 50-46.
After seven ties and four lead changes, GCU pulled away to win the first set, 25-21, despite the Trojans' late push. The Lopes had five of their six service aces in the opening frame.
Grand Canyon led wire-to-wire for a 25-22 win in the second set. Hickman and Janke each had five kills as the Lopes hit .400. USC hit .333 with 14 kills led by Klein's four. Lucas Frassrand, Kobrine, and Gallas each scored three apiece.
It took 18 ties and nine lead changes to decide the third-set winner. USC got six kills from Klein, four from Jack Deuchar, and three from Kobrine, but the Trojans' six blocks helped push USC ahead for a 28-26 win to force set four.
The teams went back and forth in the fourth, but Grand Canyon pulled away at the end for a 25-22 win despite hitting .045 with nine kills (8e, 22att). The Trojans had 11 kills with four from Gallas and three from Klein.

UP NEXT

USC and Grand Canyon will meet again on Friday night (Feb. 17) at 7 p.m. PT at Galen Center. The match will be shown live on the USC live streaming platform and all tickets are $5 at the door.

MATCH NOTES

USC fell to 6-9 all-time against Grand Canyon.
The Trojans go to 34-20 all-time in conference openers.
USC had a season-best 14.5 blocks and out-blocked its opponent for the eighth time this season (14.5 to 10.5).
The Trojans fell to 1-5 against AVCA ranked opponents this season.

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.