No. 5 USC Men's Volleyball Falls in Tight Five-Set Finish to No. 1 UCLA

Tuesday, March 3

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 p.m. PT

USC

8-2,1-1MPSF

UCLA

15-0,4-0MPSF

UCLA

Southern California

Photo by: Kevin Kim

No. 5 USC Men's Volleyball Falls in Tight Five-Set Finish to No. 1 UCLA

March 03, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Highlights Press Conference

Dillon Klein scored 28.5 points and had 25 kills in a five-set match against crosstown rival UCLA

LOS ANGELES – The fifth-ranked USC men's volleyball team (8-2, 1-1 MPSF) fell to crosstown rival No. 1-ranked UCLA (15-0, 4-0) in five sets (21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 30-28, 15-9) at Galen Center on Tuesday, March 3. The match was the first for the Trojans in 18 days.

KEY PLAYERS

Sr. OH Dillon Klein led all players with 25 kills (9e, 48att) and hit .333 to go with five digs, three blocks, two assists, and two service aces. Klein reached double-digits kills in a match for the 71st time in his career and recorded his fifth match with 20 or more kills; the 12th in his career.
Redshirt So. MB Wesley Smith hit a season-high .786 and had a season-high 11 kills (0e) on 14 attacks to go with eight blocks (two solo) to set a new career high with 16.0 points.
So. OH Sterling Foley scored 11.0 points on five kills, a season-high four service aces, and three blocks (one solo). He also put up four assists and had four digs.
Jr. S Caleb Blanchette dished out 49 assists and had eight digs, two blocks, and two kills.
So. LIB Johnny Dykstra racked up a career-high 19 digs for his 10th-career match in double digits (first this season).
For the Bruins, Sean Kelly led the offense with a career-high 21 kills (1e) on 38 swings to hit .526 with seven digs and two blocks. Zach Rama had 15 kills and six digs. Cameron Thorne had 11 kills, and four blocks (one solo) and David Decker had 11 kills and seven digs. Chris Connelly led UCLA with 12 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Bruins hit .299 over the Trojans .268 and had more kills (66-59) and assists (64-56). The Trojans had more blocks (10.5-9.0), more digs (44-42), and more service aces (7-3).
The Trojans claimed a 25-21 win in the first set behind a five-kill performance from Klein. Dykstra racked up six digs in the opening frame to help hold UCLA to a .176 hitting percentage with 10 kills (4e) on 34 attacks. Smith had three kills on three attempts and had the Trojans' only block.
UCLA evened the match with a 25-23 win in a second set that featured 15 ties and six lead changes. Klein had six kills and Roberts had four, but the Bruins hit .452 with six kills from Decker and four from Rama to get the win.
11 more ties and six lead changes resulted in a 25-22 win for the Trojans in set three. Klein poured in seven kills on just nine swings and Smith had three kills and three blocks as USC hit .500 over the Bruins' .292 with 12 kills (5e) on 24 attacks. Dykstra had four of USC's five digs in the third and Foley served a pair of his aces during a crucial run.
Down by as many as six points in the fourth, the Trojans fought back and had match point at 28-27, but UCLA scored the final three points to take a 30-28 win and send the match to a fifth set. Klein added seven more kills, and Dykstra had six digs in the frame. Both teams had three blocks apiece but UCLA out-hit USC, .209 to .186.
The Bruins ripped through a 5-0 run to open the fifth set and was never threatened on the way to a 15-9 win. The Trojans had just four kills and hit .077 but UCLA was efficient with eight kills and hit .583 to secure the win.

UP NEXT

USC meets UCLA for a rematch on Friday (March 6) at Pauley Pavilion. The teams will take the floor for a 7 p.m. PT start and be shown live on Big Ten Plus.

MATCH NOTES

USC fell to 47-109 all-time against UCLA.
The Trojans fell to 6-2 at Galen Center 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, TikTok, and Instagram.