No. 5 USC Men's Volleyball Tops No. 6 BYU in Five-Setter

Friday, March 7

Provo, Utah

7:00 p.m. MT | 6:00 p.m. PT

USC

12-2,3-0MPSF

BYU

12-5,2-1MPSF

Southern California

BYU

Photo by: Aaron Wilson

No. 5 USC Men's Volleyball Tops No. 6 BYU in Five-Setter

March 07, 2025 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

The Trojans had three players in double-digit kills led by Jack Deuchar’s season-high 23-kill performance

PROVO, Utah – The No. 5 USC men's volleyball team (12-2, 3-0 MPSF) defeated No. 6 BYU (12-5, 2-1) in five sets (23-25, 25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 23-21) at Smith Fieldhouse on Friday, March 7. It was the Trojans' first win over the Cougars in Provo since 1996 and the team's first against a top 10 opponent this season, their fifth overall against a ranked foe.

KEY PLAYERS

Redshirt Sr. OPP Jack Deuchar poured in a season-best 23 kills (10e, 44att) and hit .295 to go with a career-high nine blocks (one solo) and one of the Trojans' two service aces to finish with 29.0 points.
Jr. OH Dillon Klein scored 16 kills (7e, 37att) and hit .243 to go with five blocks and 11 digs for his second double-double this season (third career). It was his 10th time this season in double-digit kills (51st of his career).
Fr. OH Sterling Foley reached double-digit kills for the fifth time this spring and finished with 14 (3e, 22att) for .500 hitting. Foley also had seven digs, three blocks and the other USC service ace.
So. S Caleb Blanchette matched his career high (third time) with 61 assists to go with eight digs and a block. He led the Trojans to their 13th match over .300 hitting.
Fr. MB Parker Tomkinson had nine kills (2e, 15att) on .467 hitting and racked up six blocks.
Fr. LIB Johnny Dykstra reached double digits for the fifth time and finished the night with 10 digs.
Gr. MB Guy Genis had seven blocks and picked up four kills (2e, 7att, .286).
For the Cougars, Keoni Thimm had 22 kills and six service aces. Luke Benson had 15 kills but hit .109 (10e, 46att). Niko Hales added nine kills and led all players with 10 blocks. Tyler Herget had 35 assists and nine digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USC hit better than .300 for the 13th time and finished with more kills (66-59) and a higher hitting percentage (.333 to .216) than the Cougars. The Trojans also had more assists (65-57) and digs (39-33) but BYU had the edge service aces with a new season high 13 aces to USC's two. Both teams finished with 16.0 blocks apiece.
The Trojans hit .464 in the opening set and collected 17 kills (4e) on 28 swings led by six kills apiece from Klein and Deuchar. BYU won the service line with a 9-4 edge in scoring and put up three consecutive blocks as part of a 4-0 run that moved the Cougars in front for good at 21-19. The Trojans closed within a single point twice and saved one set point on a kill by Tomkinson, but Benson scored his third kill of the set to end a 25-23 BYU win.
USC took set two, 25-21, behind 16 kills (4e, .444) earned on 27 attacks. The Trojans picked up three blocks including a triple-block on Benson to end the set and held the Cougars to a .192 hitting rate with 12 kills (7e) on 26 attempts. USC led by as many as six points, 18-12, but BYU's 3-0 run trimmed it to three. The Cougars got within three several times but were no closer. Deuchar poured in six more kills while Klein added four and Tomkinson had three to lead the USC attack.
Deuchar added four more kills, served up an ace, and got in on the final block in a 25-23 win in set three to put the Trojans in front, 2-1. USC hit .333 with 12 kills (4e) on 24 attacks and put up four blocks in the set to hold the Cougars to a .226 hitting percentage with 14 kills (7e) on 31attacks. BYU picked up three more aces including one to knot the score at 22-all. An 11th tie at 23-all was broken by a kill from Deuchar before the Trojans denied Benson for the win.
The Trojans led by as many as four several times and held an 18-17 lead before BYU ripped through an 8-3 run to close out a 25-21 win and force set five. Both teams had 12 kills on 24 attacks and USC hit .292 (5e) to BYU's .250 (6e) but the Cougars caught fire at the end of the frame to get the win.
BYU rolled out to an early 6-1 lead in the fifth set, but the Trojans never stopped fighting and forced an eight-all tie with back-to-back kills by Deuchar. USC led at 9-8 and again at 12-11 but it was BYU that would reach match point first at 14-13. The Trojans saved a pair of match points and then had five chances of their own to close out the Cougars, but BYU took a lead again at 21-20. The score was tied a 13th time at 21-all before Deuchar's 23rd kill put USC in front once more. An attack error by Benson sealed the win for the Trojans, 23-21.

UP NEXT

USC and BYU meet for the rematch on Saturday (March 8) at 7 p.m. MST (6 p.m. PT). The match will be shown live on Big Ten Plus (B1G+).

MATCH NOTES

USC improved to 28-51 all-time against BYU and has won three straight matches over the Cougars. It was the Trojans' first win over BYU in Provo since a five-set decision went USC's way in 1996 under Jim McLaughlin.
The Trojans improved to 5-1 in road matches this season.
USC hit north of .300 for the 13th time in 14 matches this spring.
The Trojans reached double-digit blocks for the seventh time this season.
USC earned its fifth win over a ranked opponent this spring and got its first over a top-10 foe.

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.