No. 5 USC Men's Volleyball Sweeps No. 19 Penn State to Open Outrigger

Thursday, March 13

Honolulu, Hawai'i

4:00 p.m. HT | 7:00 p.m. PT

USC

14-2,4-0MPSF

Penn State

5-11,2-2EIVA

Southern California

Penn St.

Photo by: Aaron Wilson

No. 5 USC Men's Volleyball Sweeps No. 19 Penn State to Open Outrigger

March 13, 2025 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Caleb Blanchette dished out 23 assists and had 10 digs for this fourth-career double-double in a win over the Nittany Lions

HONOLULU – The No. 5 USC men's volleyball team (14-2, 4-0 MPSF) won its fifth straight match in a 3-0 sweep (25-20, 25-18, 25-20) of No. 19 Penn State (5-11) to open the Outrigger Invitational at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday, March 13. It is the Trojans' seventh win over a ranked opponent this season.

KEY PLAYERS

So. S Caleb Blanchette put up 23 assists and led all players with 10 digs for his first double-double this season (fourth career); and matched his career high with five blocks (one solo).
Jr. OH Dillon Klein led USC with 10 kills (2e, 17att) on .471 hitting to go with four blocks (one solo) and two service aces. It was his 12th time this season in double-digit kills (53rd match of his career).
Gr. MB Guy Genis led the Trojans with six blocks and had a pair of kills and a service ace.
Fr. LIB Johnny Dykstra put up five digs.
Redshirt Sr. OPP Jack Deuchar scored six kills and had three digs and two blocks (one solo).
Fr. OH Sterling Foley reached double-digit points for the ninth time (10.0) with six kills, five blocks (one solo), and an ace.
For the Nittany Lions, Will Kuhns led with eight kills but hit negative .048 in the process. Gaige Gabriel led all players with eight blocks (one solo) and had seven kills. Ryan Merk paced PSU with five digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USC completed the sweep with a .231 hitting percentage (30k, 15e, 65att) but put up 16.0 blocks to hold an opponent to negative hitting (-.035) for the first time in over 10 years. Penn State had 28 kills and 31 errors on 86 attempts but also reached double-digit blocks (11.0).
The Trojans ended a 25-20 win in set one on their third service ace—this one from Deuchar—who also led USC with two kills. The other five Trojan starters each logged one kill apiece and USC finished with just seven kills (4e) on 17 swings to register a .176 hitting percentage in the opening frame. Both teams had three blocks each, but Penn State hit sub-zero (-.038) with 10 kills on 26 attacks with 11 errors.
Klein racked up four kills in set two to power USC to a 25-18 win behind improved .217 hitting (12k, 7e, 23att). Deuchar added three kills, and the Trojans scored on two more aces to go with five blocks in set two to hold the Lions to a goose egg (.000) with eight kills and eight errors on 25 swings.
Penn State opened set three with a 4-1 lead, but the Trojans rolled through a 6-0 run to wrestle the lead away for good. USC racked up 7.5 blocks in set three and had 10 digs (four from Blanchette) to help hold the Lions to a negative .057 hitting percentage (10k. 12e, 35att). Klein tallied five more kills to reach double digits and did it on just eight swings. Foley had three kills and a pair of blocks in the third set.

UP NEXT

USC takes on No. 12 Ball State (13-6) in its second match at the Outrigger Invitational. The Trojans meet the Cardinals for a 4 p.m. HT (7 p.m. PT) match on Friday (March 14) that will be streamed on USC's Instagram account @uscmensvolley.

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 23-12 all-time against Penn State and has won three in a row over the Nittany Lions.
The Trojans collected their seventh win over a ranked opponent this season.
USC hit under .300 for only the second time in 16 matches.
The Trojans reached double-digit blocks (16.0) for the ninth time.
USC registered its ninth 3-0 win 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 Facebook, X, and Instagram.