After going 3-0 at the Outrigger Invitational, USC men’s volleyball got the win back home in Los Angeles against No. 13 Grand Canyon. The Trojans took the first game of a two-game series against the Antelopes and advanced to 5-0 in MPSF play.
In the first set, the teams kept the score tight early on. GCU had two blocks in the first set, which caused some struggle for the Trojans’ offense. Junior outside hitter Dillon Klein, however, had no problem against the Lopes’ defense. He opened the set with back-to-back kills and finished with 10 total kills in the first frame alone, hitting a .769 percentage. On GCU’s side, six players each had one or more kills, and the Lopes hit .412 as a team.
After a slow start, the Trojans went on a 4-0 run led by freshman outside hitter Sterling Foley behind the service line. Foley had all three of USC’s aces in the first set and gave the squad a 17-13 lead. The strong run from the freshman put him over Klein for the most service aces on the team this season.
GCU fought back with a kill by graduate opposite hitter Jarrett Anderson, but USC was quick to respond with another serving run led by freshman middle blocker Parker Tomkinson. Klein finished the set 25-17 with an ace for USC.
The Trojans took control in the second set defensively, holding GCU’s offense to an .077 hitting percentage. USC also put up four blocks in the second set, completely shutting out the Lopes’ hitters. Redshirt senior opposite hitter Jack Deuchar caught fire for the Trojans in the second with five kills, hitting .692. GCU redshirt junior outside hitter Cole Ottmar tried to match Deuchar’s aggressiveness and was ultimately GCU’s catalyst in the second set. Ottmar had six kills and hit .462 for the Lopes in the second frame.
But Ottmar’s efforts were not enough and USC took a 22-15 lead, forcing a GCU timeout. Klein, aggressive coming out of the timeout, scored his 13th kill and a following GCU net error secured the 25-18 second set win for the Trojans.
It was a must-win third set for the Lopes, and they did not go down without a fight. GCU improved from eight kills in the second to an impressive 20 kills in the third. Though the Trojans hit .333 as a team, their defense could not contain GCU’s offense.
GCU started the set on a 3-0 run thanks to back-to-back kills by freshman middle blocker Braedon Marquardt, who tied his career high with 10 kills on the evening. Deuchar was able to stop the bleeding, quickly scoring his 10th kill, and Foley put up a solo block to cut GCU’s lead down to one. However, junior outside hitter Trent Moser scored six kills for the Lopes and gave them a 14-9 lead.
Deuchar tried to fight back from being down five, recording his 14th kill. Foley later added another ace for the Trojans, making the score 18-14. However, GCU senior middle blocker Cole Duncanson scored back-to-back with a kill and an ace, helping the Lopes take the third set 25-17 with an impressive offensive performance.
“We didn’t really play our style of volleyball,” Deuchar said about USC’s third-set loss.
The Trojans flipped the momentum to their side in the fourth set. They started on a 3-0 run, and their blocking pressure gave them an early 8-3 lead.
“So what we did was not worry about the score, and then we were able to reboot for the fourth set and come out hot,” Deuchar said.
But the Lopes fought back with kills by both Moser and Marquardt, forcing a USC timeout. The teams traded back-to-back points and kept the score tight late into the set. Foley continued his impressive performance behind the service line and recorded his career-best fifth ace, giving USC an 18-15 lead.
GCU then slowed down offensively, hitting only .154 percentage. The Trojans added on with their NCAA-best blocking unit, putting up four blocks to GCU’s one in the fourth and final set. After a USC coach’s challenge, Deuchar scored his 20th kill of the match and Foley finished the set with a block. The Trojans won the fourth 25-19 and beat the No. 13 Lopes 3-1.
Although GCU had three players with double-digit kills, the duo of Deuchar — with 20 kills and .600 hitting percentage — and Klein — with 18 kills, six digs and four blocks — gave the Trojans the firepower to advance their eight-game winning streak with the four-set win.
“We know that they’re not going to just give us a free one tomorrow,” head coach Jeff Nygaard said in reference to the Trojans’ and Lopes’ matchup on Saturday. “It’s on us to come prepared. It’s on us for that mindset to be prepared from the first point to the last.”
The Trojans will play GCU again to finish their two-game series tomorrow at Galen Center.