No. 15 USC Men's Volleyball Exacts Revenge in Four-Set Win Over No. 7 UCI

Saturday, February 10

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM

USC

8-4,0-0MPSF

UC Irvine

6-4,0-0Big West

UC Irvine

Southern California

Photo by: Drake Lee

No. 15 USC Men's Volleyball Exacts Revenge in Four-Set Win Over No. 7 UCI

February 10, 2024 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

The Trojans got 17 kills from Dillon Klein and 13 from Riley Haine in a 3-1 victory over the Anteaters

LOS ANGELES – The 15th-ranked USC men's volleyball team (8-4) earned a series split with seventh-ranked UC Irvine (6-4) on a four-set victory (12-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-14) at Galen Center on Saturday, Feb. 10.

KEY PLAYERS

So. OH Dillon Klein reached double-digit kills for the 29th time in his career and finished with 19.0 points on a match-high 17 kills (3e, 39att) with .359 hitting. He also had five digs, two blocks, and served on of USC's three aces.
So. OH Riley Haine collected 13 kills (4e, 31att, .290) for his fourth-career double-digit match and added six digs, two blocks, and a service ace.
Fr. MB Wesley Smith finished with a match-high eight blocks (three solo) and had 11.5 points with six kills.
Fr. S Caleb Blanchette posted 39 assists to guide the Trojans to a .265 hitting night and added three digs and a block.
Sr. MB Kyle Paulson put up five blocks and had four kills and a service ace for 7.5 points.
Redshirt Jr. OPP Jack Deuchar contributed eight kills and had two blocks.
Jr. LIB Austin Stuard had a match-high nine digs and put up seven assists.
For the Anteaters, Hilir Henno led with 16 kills on .333 hitting and had four blocks. Maxim Grigoriev followed with 13 kills, three blocks, and six digs. Brett Sheward put up 39 assists to go with six digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Anteaters ran away with a 25-12 win in the opening set with .357 hitting and 13 kills on 28 swings (3e). The Trojans hit .000 with seven kills and seven errors. Haine led USC with three kills while Klein and Deuchar each had two.
USC evened the match with a 25-22 win in the second frame and did it on .367 hitting with 15 kills on 30 attacks. Klein collected six of his kills in set two while Deuchar had four. Smith came up with two kills and had a solo block to help the Trojans break a 20-all tie and come away with the win.
The Trojans took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-23 win in the third. Haine turned in five kills and Klein and Smith each had three to power the offense. USC led by as many as three early in the set, but the Anteaters ripped through scoring run to take a 17-12 lead. Roberts served the Trojans to a 4-0 run before a block by Klein and Paulson tied the teams at 19-all. UCI went up, 23-21, but USC had the last four points in a 25-23 win.
USC sealed the win with a 25-14 finish in the fourth. Klein stayed hot to pick up six more kills and Haine had four to help the Trojans hit .480 in the frame. USC also had four more blocks in the fourth to help hold the Anteaters to a .086 hitting.

UP NEXT

The Trojans open conference play next week with a visit to Concordia on Valentine's Night (Feb. 14). USC takes on the Golden Eagles at 7 p.m. PT at CU Arena in Irvine, Calif., and will be shown live on a Team1Sports stream. The teams will meet for a second match on Friday (Feb. 16) at 7 p.m. at Galen Center. Tickets for USC's home match are available at USCTrojans.com/tickets.

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 43-36 all-time against the Anteaters.
The Trojans reached double-digit blocks for the eighth time this season and had their 11th contest in which they have had the same or more blocks than their opponent.
USC out-hit its opponent for the 10th time 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.