Match Stats
- USC def. #6 Stanford 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-23)
- USC moves to 4-9 (3-7 MPSF); Stanford falls to 8-5 (5-3 MPSF)
- Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
- Attendance: 300
- Match Stats
The unranked USC Trojans upset MPSF foes Stanford 3-0 on Friday night in Los Angeles, in spite of a severely undermanned roster hit by injuries.
The team has been without Gianluca Grasso, a Brazilian added to the roster mid-season, for more than a week now, and played just 7 in Friday’s game – the minimum possible if a team plays a libero. By comparison, Stanford had 12 players see the court in the game, including 8 who scored.
Both teams started sloppy in the first set – USC hit just .161, while Stanford had 9 kills and 9 errors for a .000 efficiency percentage.
Thereafter, USC was able to clean up their errors better than Stanford, and that made the difference. The Trojans hit .407 and .303, with 3 and 5 errors, respectively, in the 2nd and 3rd sets. Two players were responsible for 25 of USC’s 41 kills – Woody Cook had 10 on 19 swings (.316 percentage), while Lucas Yoder led the way with 15 on 36 attacks (.22 percentage). With such a thin lineup though, USC had to get contributions from every position – and they did. All but libero Matt Douglas scored on the day for USC, and all but Douglas had a block as well. Douglas chippedd in 10 digs for his efforts.
Stanford had two players in double digit hits as well, though no player with more than 1 attack hit above .167 in the game. Gabriel Vega had 10 (6 errors, 24 attacks, .167 percentage), while Jordan Ewert had 12 (7 errors, 34 attacks, .156).
The game could be a turning point for USC, who have struggled all season. It was their first 3-set victory in 16 games – dating back to late in the 2016 season.
Stanford won the teams’ first matchup of the season, on January 26th, by the reverse 3-0 score.
Video Highlights
Press Releases
Courtesy USC Athletics:
Lucas Yoder had 15 kills and Woody Cook added 10 kills and 5 digs to lead the unranked USC men’s volleyball team to a 25-19, 25-20, 25-23 upset sweep over No. 6 Stanford in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Thursday (Feb. 16) at USC’s Galen Center.
It was USC’s first 3-set victory in 16 matches, dating back to late in the 2016 season. The Trojans improved to 4-9 overall and 3-7 in the MPSF, while Stanford fell to 8-5 overall and 5-3 in league play.
Jordan Ewert led Stanford with 12 kills and 8 digs, while Gabriel Vega added 10 kills and Evan Enriques had 10 digs.
Matt Douglas had 10 digs for the Trojans, Andy Benesh hit .538 with 7 kills, Ryan Moss had a match-high 5 blocks and both Gert Lisha and Lucas Lossone had 6 digs. The Trojans were again without recent junior college transfer Gianluca Grasso, a starting outside hitter who missed his second consecutive match with an ankle sprain.
USC hit .286 to Stanford’s .089. The Trojans also had more blocks, 10.5 to 6.0.
USC opened up a 13-9 lead in the first set before Stanford tied it at 16-16, but the Trojans scored the next 3 points to restore order. Troy got off to a 4-1 edge in the second set, but again the Cardinal caught up (at 7-7), then the set seesawed until USC went on a 4-0 run to go up 17-13, all the margin it needed while hitting. 407. The Trojans fell behind 10-8 in the third set, but tied it at 14-14 and then used a 4-0 run to move ahead 18-15, enough to hold off Stanford and clinch the match.
USC next hosts No. 9 Pepperdine in an MPSF match on Saturday (Feb. 18) at 7 p.m. PT in the Galen Center.
Courtesy Stanford Athletics:
LOS ANGELES – Coming off a pair of thrilling comeback wins last week, the sixth-ranked Stanford men’s volleyball team suffered a 25-19, 25-20, 25-23 setback at USC, Thursday at the Galen Center.
Stanford (8-5, 5-3 MPSF) was held to a season-low .089 attack percentage by USC (4-9, 3-7 MPSF), which hit .286. The Trojans held a 10.5 to 6.0 advantage in blocks, while both teams collected 32 digs and recorded two aces.
Stanford fell behind in the first two sets early on and was unable to recover from costly hitting errors. The Cardinal held a 13-10 lead midway through the third, but the Trojans utilized a 6-2 run to take the lead which it would not relinquish.Reigning MPSF Player of the Week Jordan Ewert let Stanford with 12 kills, eight digs and an ace, but posted a .156 attack percentage. Redshirt senior Gabriel Vega added 10 kills and two blocks. The duo combined for 22 of the Cardinal’s 32 kills.
Freshman Paul Bischoff was back in the starting line-up, but again shared setting duties with junior Kyle Dagostino. Bischoff finished with 14 assists, four digs, a kill and an ace, while Dagostino tallied 12 assists, five digs and a block. Junior libero Evan Enriques anchored the defense with 10 digs, marking the third straight match he was in double-digits and the sixth overall.
USC was led by senior outside hitter Lucas Yoder, who finished with a match-high 15 kills on .222 hitting. Woody Cook chipped in with 10 kills on a .316 attack percentage, while libero Matt Douglas racked-up 10 digs. All three of USC’s MPSF wins have come over opponents ranked in the top 6 in the nation.
Stanford completes the road swing at Cal Baptist on Saturday, Feb. 18. First serve between the Cardinal and Lancers is slated for 7 p.m.
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