No. 12 USC Men's Volleyball Locks Up Four-Set Win Over Lincoln Memorial

Saturday, January 13

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM

USC

4-0,0-0MPSF

Lincoln Memorial

1-1,1-0DI Independent

Lincoln Memorial

Southern California

Photo by: Drake Lee

No. 12 USC Men's Volleyball Locks Up Four-Set Win Over Lincoln Memorial

January 13, 2024 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

The Trojans were led by OH Dillon Klein’s season-high 24 kills

LOS ANGELES – The 12th-ranked USC men's volleyball team (4-0) topped Lincoln Memorial (1-1) in four sets (25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18) at Galen Center on Saturday, Jan. 13.

KEY PLAYERS

So. OH Dillon Klein reached double-digit kills in a match for the 22nd time in his career (his fifth with 20 or more) and finished the night with a season-high 24 kills (2e, 42att) on .524 hitting. Klein also recorded four digs and added three blocks (one solo) and had a service ace to net 27.0 points; the second highest total in his career.
Fr. S Caleb Blanchette produced his first-career double-double with 48 assists and 10 digs; and set the Trojans to a .327 hitting rate; the team's fourth straight match hitting over .300.
Redshirt Jr. OPP Jack Deuchar posted 11 kills (his third-career match in double digits) and had three digs and a block.
So. OH Riley Haine matched his career high with 15.0 points and did so on 10 kills (4e, 19att) and .316 hitting. Haine also recorded career highs of six digs and six blocks (two solo) and added a service ace.
Fr. MB Wes Smith put up seven kills (1e, 12att) and hit .500 with three blocks (two solo) and added three digs.
Jr. LIB Austin Stuard had eight digs and put up two assists.
For the Railsplitters, Justin Sharfenaker led with 11 kills but hit just .062 (9e) on 32 attacks. Sharfenaker also led his team in digs with nine and served two of the Railsplitters' eight aces. Kohl Kutsch had 39 assists and eight digs to go with four kills. Shay Spadaro scored nine kills while Luigi Picini and Ethan Morgan had seven kills apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Trojans out-hit the Railsplitters, .327 to .202, and put up more kills (54-44), digs (35-34), blocks (13-6.5), and assists (52-44). Lincoln Memorial had more aces (8-4) and had fewer service errors (18-14).
Powered by eight kills from Klein, the Trojans broke away for a 25-21 win in the opening set by hitting .323 with 15 kills (5e) on 31 swings. USC also dug up 11 balls and posted four blocks to overcome a set where it registered seven service errors. Haine, Duchar, and Smith each also put up two kills apiece in the opening set.
Klein racked up six more kills in the second set, but the Splitters hit .429 with 13 kills on 28 attacks (1e) to snatch a 25-20 win and even the match. Haine and Smith each posted three more kills, but the Trojans hit .267 with six errors and couldn't block LMU, which also added three service aces to USC's one.
The Trojans went in front, 2-1, with a 25-23 win in the third set. USC hit .290 in the frame (13k, 4e, 31att) and got six more kills from Klein and four from Deuchar. Blanchette put up 10 assists and had four of his digs and the Trojans put up four blocks to hold the Railsplitters to a .172 hitting percentage with 12 kills (7e) on 29 swings.
USC hit .476 in the fourth set and got four kills apiece from Klein and Haine to close out the match with a 25-18 win. The Trojans had five blocks and got three digs from Stuard to help hold the Splitters to a .185 hitting percentage (12k, 7e) on 27 swings. Deuchar added three kills.

UP NEXT

The Trojans head to Austin, Texas, for the First Point Collegiate Challenge presented by the First Point Volleyball Foundation at the Austin Convention Center. USC will take on Ball State on Friday (Jan. 19) and then meets Ohio State on Saturday (Jan. 20). First serve for both matches is set for 1:30 p.m. CT and all matches at the tournament will be carried live by FloVolleyball. UCLA, Stanford, and Penn State will also be in attendance and a special boys' volleyball clinic will be held on Thursday (Jan. 18) with participants from each school.

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 2-0 all-time in meetings with Lincoln Memorial.
The Trojans recorded a higher hitting percentage and collected more kills and more blocks than their opponent for the fourth time this season.
USC reached double-digit blocks for the second time this season.
The Trojans start the season 4-0 for the second time under ninth-year head coach Jeff Nygaard. USC went 5-0 to start the 2022 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.