Trojans drop two straight over break

Just when it seemed like it had snapped out of its midseason funk after winning two matches in a row, the USC men’s volleyball team hit another bump in the road over spring break.

Efficient · Senior middle blocker Hunter Current had seven kills and a .636 hitting percentage in USC’s second match against the Cougars. - Photo courtesy of USC Sports Information

The No. 7 Trojans were swept in back-to-back matches at No. 4 Brigham Young University on Friday and Saturday to extend their losing streak to three matches and their losing streak to BYU in Provo, Utah, to 13 matches.

The Cougars (14-7, 10-6) had little problem dispatching the Trojans (10-9, 8-8) on Saturday, as they won in straight sets 30-25, 30-23, 30-23.

USC never posed much of a threat in any of those three sets. The closest the Trojans got in the first set was 8-8, until a serving error and a Cougar block gave BYU a 10-8 lead it never relinquished. The second set was a little closer, as the score was tied at 17 before a BYU kill and block gave it the two-point cushion it needed.

Junior opposite hitter Murphy Troy led the Trojans with 13 kills, while junior Tri Bourne, returning to the starting lineup these last two games at the libero position, had nine digs.

But the match of the weekend came the night before in the first match between USC and BYU.

In a tight contest from the start, the Cougars outlasted the Trojans in four sets, 33-31, 35-37, 33-31, 30-21.

USC actually had a firm grip on the first set, a set they now haven’t won in 12 matches, holding a 27-24 lead. But the Cougars reeled off three straight points to tie the game, and after the score reached a 31-31 tie, the Trojans did themselves in, as a USC hitting error and serving error gave BYU the set.

Yet, typical of the Trojan team this season, it didn’t give up, rallying to take the second set in dramatic fashion.

Facing four set points down 29-25, freshman outside hitter Maddison McKibbin hit a kill, then served up an ace to save two set points before a BYU hitting error and a Trojan block tied the game at 29. The score would remain within one point until Troy recorded a kill and BYU had a hitting error to give the Trojans the second set.

BYU, however, refused to yield momentum to the Trojans, as it jumped out to a 22-17 lead in the third set before USC went on a 8-2 run to get a one point lead at 25-24. But the Trojans couldn’t close the set out as, like in the first set, they hindered themselves with consecutive hitting errors at 31-31 to give BYU a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set was never really competitive. The Cougars jumped out to a 12-6 lead and hit .393 en route to the nine-point win and the 3-1 win for the match.

Despite the loss, several Trojans stood out: Troy, McKibbin and sophomore outside hitter Tony Ciarelli recorded double-digit kills, while McKibbin and junior middle blocker Austin Zahn combined for 11 blocks.