Men’s Volleyball comes up short against No. 7 UC Irvine

The No. 10 USC men’s volleyball team suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 fifth-set loss in a non-conference away matchup against No. 7-ranked UC Irvine Wednesday night. The loss moved the team to 4-2 in the season. 

 The Trojans went 2-0 against the Anteaters last season, and were looking to re-establish themselves as the superior team to a much-improved Anteater squad. 

Unfortunately for USC, UCI took control early — mixing in tips with their hard hitting to confuse the Trojans. The Trojans fought hard, but the Anteaters were able to win the first set 25-22 and take a 1-0 lead. 

The Trojans bounced back with a narrow 27-25 win in the second set, using a crucial dig from senior libero George Dyer to win the match point and tie the game at one set apiece.  

Overall, Head Coach Jeff Nygaard was pleased with the team’s ability to dig it out against a team that made it tough.

“I thought we passed really good against a really tough serving team,” Nygaard said. 

The theme of comebacks carried over to the third set, where the Trojans went from being down 17-14 to taking a 22-19 lead and eventually winning the set — giving them a 2-1 lead.  

Unfortunately, the comeback kids stalled in the fourth set, as UCI built a big lead and the Trojans couldn’t recover. After a 25-20 set loss, they were left to either regroup and adapt, or suffer a heartbreaking loss. 

The Trojans were unable to recuperate, emerging empty-handed after a few key service errors in the fifth and final set. 

Nygaard said the team looks to clean up those errors in the future. 

“Missing 4 serves in game five, we have to make sure we put those balls in and put the pressure back on them,” Nygaard said. 

The away crowd was deafeningly loud leading up to those crucial service errors, but Nygard didn’t think that hostile environment affected them. 

“I don’t think [the noise] was a factor in it,” Nygaard said. “I personally just saw a couple of tosses that I don’t think were the ones we were looking for, and so we probably just made a decision that we could have made something better on.” 

The Trojans’ valiant effort was led by freshman outside hitter Dillon Klein, who led the team in kills, with 19, and total points, with 21. Klein was quick to credit his success to his teammates. 

“The setting and passing was just great today,” Klein said. “I had a couple of good swings here and there, but my teammates really helped me out.”

However, Nygaard was most impressed with Klein’s proficiency in a skill that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet.  

“He was our best passer,” Nygaard said. “Against that team, he raised the level of his passes, so we had the opportunity to run a good offense.”

The Trojans, who have been on the road all season so far, are eager to return home and play in front of Trojan fans. 

“Getting the opportunity to play in front of all my friends is a great opportunity,” Klein said. 

Nygaard cracked a huge smile when asked about playing at Galen. 

“We’re stoked to see who is in the crowd supporting us,” Nygaard said. “Can’t wait to be back in the Trojan land. Fight on!”

The Trojans will look to bounce back against CSUN in Northridge next Wednesday at 7 p.m.