Volleyball

USC men’s volleyball falls short against CSUN in the final set

The Trojans recorded their second loss of the season after fighting through five sets.

Photo of the USC men's volleyball team huddled up between serves. They are in the forefront with red volleyball uniforms, and the CSUN volleyball team stands in the background in black uniforms. In the back, a large banner reads: FIGHT ON! 135 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS.
USC men's volleyball fought hard but came up short against the CSUN Matadors. (Photo by MARCUS HEATHERLY)

The No. 11 USC men’s volleyball team returned home to the Galen Center to take on No. 18 CSUN Wednesday night. The Trojans started the spring season 4-0 at home and were looking to bounce back after their first loss of the season against Ohio State over the weekend.

USC sophomore outside hitter Dillon Klein and redshirt junior opposite hitter Jack Deuchar led the team with 17 kills each. Deuchar added five digs and an ace. Freshman setter Caleb Blanchette had 29 assists, but the Trojans still fell short 3-2.

Junior setter Josh Friedman also added 10 assists.

“I thought Josh was exceptional, leading his team and bringing energy and running offense,” USC head coach Jeff Nygaard said.

The second and third sets were tough battles for the Trojans. In the second set, USC came up short 27-25. The Trojans couldn’t find a response to the attacks made by CSUN players in the third set and fell short 25-20. The Trojans’ defense against CSUN could not keep up as the kills kept being delivered.

USC looked for redemption during the fourth and rallied through the battle. The Trojans responded in the fourth set and pulled through to win 25-17.

In the fifth set, however, CSUN started with a 4-1 lead and continued that momentum to win 15-10. CSUN led USC with overall a better performance with 56 kills and 55 set assists, compared to USC’s 48 kills and 46 set assists.

Nygaard reflected postgame on honing in to improve on serve and receive, as the Trojans were caught by surprise when they didn’t read and adjust to the serves CSUN delivered.

“Some of their serves caught us by surprise, and I don’t know if we read that and adjusted to it as well as we knew we were capable of. We can then put it into a place where we can unlock our offensive potential,” Nygaard said.

USC (5-2) is prepared to make a comeback and is optimistic for its next match on a quick turnaround. USC takes on Central State (0-7) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Galen Center.