USC men’s volleyball finished its two game series against the Vanguard Lions 2-0 with a three set win (25-17, 25-16, 25-23) at Galen Center Friday night. The Trojans advance to 2-0 in conference play.
“Our mentality was don’t let up on the gas,” freshman outside hitter Christian Connell said. “Keep pushing. Even though we beat them once, it’s not gonna happen again necessarily.”
The match started with USC senior middle blocker Markus Olsson getting the first kill of the game. The Trojans and the Lions traded serving errors and kept the score close for the first few points. But it wasn’t until freshman middle blocker Robert Tomkinson got his first block that USC developed an early 6-3 lead.
It was a slow first set for each team, with errors from the service line and on the net, causing neither team to take a definite lead. The Trojans especially had a hard time behind the service line with 15 errors in the match.
“We’ve been working on applying a little more service pressure to other teams, so obviously it’s gonna cost us missed serves,” freshman outside hitter Sterling Foley said on the Trojan’s service errors. “But I think that’s really going to help us later.”
Points went back and forth in an outside versus outside duel. Lions’ sophomore outsider hitter Phinehas Wiley had an impressive start with three kills hitting a perfect 1.000 percentage. On the other side of the net, the outside duo of Foley and junior Dillon Klein, responded with both racking up two kills also hitting a perfect 1.000 percentage.
The lack of service pressure by USC let the Lions dictate their side of the net and kept them in the set with the Trojans. Lions’ freshman outside hitter Grant Dvorak scored back-to-back points with a kill and a solo block making the score 18-15 with USC still leading.
In his college debut, freshman opposite hitter Eamon Rigdon led the Trojans to an impressive run from behind the service line late in the set. And with a Tomkinson kill from the middle, USC secured the first set 25-17.
The USC freshman class had an impressive match. A different Trojan freshman led the team in each stat category from kills, blocks, to digs. The performance from these superstar freshmen was a crucial component in the Trojans’ win.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re 18 or 23. The competitor goes out and competes and it doesn’t matter what their age is,” head coach Jeff Nygaard said about his talented freshman class. “They’re talented and age is not a factor for them. They’ve earned the right to be out there.”
The Trojans started the second set on a much higher note with an early Olsson block and the fifth kill from Foley. Connell, in his first college start, then got the first ace for the Trojans and to give them a 7-3 early lead.
Tomkinson, who leads the MPSF conference in blocks per set (1.20), got a huge solo block against Dvorak and the Lions took a timeout with USC on top 9-4. Connell then got the hot hand from the back row with two back-to-back kills, extending the Trojan lead to 12-5.
The Trojans displayed a dominant offensive showcase in the second set. USC sophomore setter Caleb Blanchette spread the offensive perfectly with 23 assists in the set, and multiple Trojans had four or more kills.
Vanguard, on the other hand, fell off offensively in the second set, dropping into a negative .040 hitting percentage. With only two kills to USC’s 11, the Lions let the Trojans take a 18-8 lead.
But the Lions still put up a fight, putting together a quick 4-0 run. Foley calmed the Lions momentum with his seventh kill and a demanding solo block, the Trojans‘ fourth of the set. Wiley attacked back with his sixth kill for the Lions, but the Trojan lead continued to grow. Klein finished the set at 25-16 with his seventh kill.
USC freshman middle blocker Tyler Robinson started the third set with his first kill for the Trojans. In a must-win situation, however, the Lions did not go down easily. The score remained tied for most of the beginning of the set. The Lions took a 10-7 lead with two aces from senior setter Sean Nguyen, forcing USC to take a timeout.
The Lions kept pushing against the Trojans. Vanguard freshman outside hitter Logan Freeman tied the match once again with his seventh kill. But the Lions were still hitting a low .077 percentage compared to USC’s .304. Trojan freshman libero Johnny Dykstra, with 15 digs in the match, was the catalyst defensively that kept the Lions from developing energy offensively.
Late in the set, USC took a 20-16 lead. The Lions, still with some fight in them, gained some momentum and cut the lead down to 22-21 through their scrappy defense. A USC error in the net kept Vanguard’s hope alive. But unfortunately, an untimely service error in the net on their end cost the Lions the match, and USC won the third set 25-23.
The Trojans were able to finish their series with Vanguard with a win thanks to their undeniable offensive power. USC hitters Klein, Foley and Connell all had double digits kills. Foley had an impressive double-double match with 11 kills and 10 digs. The Trojans also put up nine blocks and 42 digs on the defense end.
The Trojans will play their next game against Brigham Young University on March 7th.
“We just got to play our game and stick to our game plan,” Foley said about the upcoming BYU game.
“We know what their record is and what ours is,” Nygaard added. ”So we’re looking forward to going there and competing in that tough environment.”