No. 5 USC Sweeps Vanguard to Open MPSF Play

Wednesday, February 26

Costa Mesa, Calif.

7:00 p.m. PT

USC

10-2,1-0MPSF

Vanguard

3-7,0-1MPSF

Southern California

Vanguard

Photo by: Kate Tsao

No. 5 USC Sweeps Vanguard to Open MPSF Play

February 26, 2025 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

The Trojans tamed the Lions with .452 hitting and got 14 kills from Dillon Klein in a win over the Lions

COSTA MESA, Calif. – The No. 5 USC men's volleyball team (10-2, 1-0 MPSF) opened league play with a 3-0 sweep (25-22, 25-12, 25-19) of conference newcomer Vanguard (3-7, 0-1) at Freed Center for Leadership on Wednesday, Feb. 28.

KEY PLAYERS

Jr. OH Dillon Klein led all players with 14 kills (1e) on 17 attacks to hit .765 and added four digs and two blocks. It was his eighth time this season and his 49th-career match in double-digit kills.
Fr. OH Sterling Foley reached double-digit kills for the third time this spring and finished with 10 (4e, 22att) for .273 hitting. Foley also had three digs, three blocks (one solo) and a pair of service aces for 14.0 points.
Redshirt Sr. OPP Jack Deuchar added seven kills (1e, 13att) for .462 hitting with three digs and a block.
So. S Caleb Blanchette dished out 34 assists with six digs, three blocks, and two service aces. He led the Trojans to their 11th match with over .300 hitting and their fifth time they hit over .450 this season.
Gr. MB Guy Genis scored 7.0 points with four kills (0e, 5att, .800), four blocks, an ace, and a dig.
For the Lions, Micah Sybesma led with seven kills (1e, 11att, .545). Grant Dvorak and Phinehas Wiley each put in six kills apiece. Brock Henderson dished out 17 assists and had two digs and three blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USC hit .452 in the match with 43 kills (10e) on 73 swings to log the team's 11th match over .300 and its fifth time this season north of the .450 mark. The Trojans finished with more kills (43-24), assists (41-20), service aces (7-3), digs (24-12), and blocks (9.5-6.0).
The Trojans collected 19 kills and hit .394 (6e, 33att) in the opening frame to take a 25-22 win. The score was tied 10 times and the lead changed hands six times before USC claimed the win. Klein racked up seven of his kills to lead all scorers while Deuchar had six and Foley added five. USC out-dug Vanguard, 10-4, in set one but the Lions had a big edge at the net with five blocks to produce all but one of the Trojans' hitting errors.
USC rolled to a 25-12 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match. This time, the Trojans put up the wall at the net and finished with 8.5 blocks to hold the Lions to a negative .182 hitting rate (4k. 8e, 22att). On the other side of the line, USC hit .550 with 12 kills (1e) on just 20 swings. The Trojans also out-dug Vanguard 8-5 and got four of those from Blanchette who tossed in 10 assists and had both of the Trojans' service aces.
The Trojans closed out the sweep with a 25-19 win in set three and did it with .450 hitting (12k, 3e, 20att). Klein had three kills and Fr. OH Christian Connelltagged three balls for points. Blanchette put up eight more assists before Jr. S Ryan Sprague came in relief to finish off the match. The Lions hit .364 in set three and matched the Trojans' 12 kills (4e, 22att).

UP NEXT

USC and Vanguard lock up again on Friday night (Feb. 28) when they meet up for a 7 p.m. PT match at Galen Center. The match will be shown live on a Big Ten Plus (B1G+) stream.

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 2-0 all-time against Vanguard and faced the Lions for the first time since a meeting in 2022.
The Trojans improved to 36-20 in conference openers.
USC hit north of .300 for the 11th time in 13 matches this spring and put together its fifth match hitting over .450.

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 Facebook, X, and Instagram.