MATCH STATS
- #19 USC def. Harvard, 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 28-26)
- USC improves to 5-14; Harvard falls to 5-10
- Los Angeles, California
- Attendance: 250
- Box score
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Jack Wyett single-handedly ended #19 USC’s 7-match losing streak by pounding an MPSF-high-tying 27 kills in a four-set non-conference win over Harvard Sunday night in the Galen Center.
Wyett’s efforts also included hitting .558 (27-3-43), 8 digs, 2 aces and a block for the Trojans. Lucas Lossone, in only his second start of the season, added 12 kills to the attack to go along with 6 digs, a match-high-tying 5 blocks and 2 aces. Libero Cole Paxson led the floor defense with 10 digs. Noah Franklin, in only his third start of the season, took advantage of the opportunity by bringing 7 kills and matching Paxson for the team lead in digs with 10. Setter Gert Lisha dished out 48 assists to lead the efficient attack to a .300 hitting clip.
For Harvard, Brad Gretsch, an Encinitas, California native, led the way with 17 kills on .250 hitting. He also added 6 digs, 4 blocks and an ace. No other member of the Crimson had more than 6 kills. Matthew Ctvrtlik (son of former Olympic gold medalist and outside hitter Bob Ctvrtlik), a sophomore setter out of Newport Beach, California, split time in the 6-2 with Marko Kostich. Ctvrtlik finished with 24 assists and 3 kills, while Kostich added 16 assists, 6 digs, 5 kills and a team-high 2 aces. Libero Chase Howard finished with a match-high-tying 10 digs. Middle blocker Trevor Dow led Harvard at the net with 5 blocks.
Harvard’s West Coast trip continues with a match on Monday against #12 Concordia-Irvine. USC goes back to MPSF play with matches at BYU on Thursday and Stanford on Saturday.
PRESS RELEASE
Courtesy of USC Athletics
Jack Wyett had 27 kills, equaling the most by any Mountain Pacific Sports Federation player this year, to help the USC men’s volleyball team snap a 7-match losing skid by defeating Harvard, 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 28-26, in a non-conference match on Sunday (March 11) in USC’s Galen Center.
USC improved to 5-14 in 2018, while Harvard dropped to 5-10.
Wyett hit .558 in the match and also had 8 digs and 2 aces. Teammate Lucas Lossone made just his second start of the season and responded with 12 kills, 6 digs, 5 blocks and 2 aces. Noah Franklin, in just his third start of 2018, had 7 kills and 10 digs. Cole Paxson also had 10 digs.
For Harvard, Brad Gertsch had 17 kills and 4 blocks, while Trevor Dow had 6 kills and 5 blocks, Erik Johnsson had 6 kills off the bench and Chase Howard had 10 digs.
USC hit .300 to Harvard’s .196. The Trojans had more blocks (10.0 to 8.0), digs (41 to 35) and aces (6 to 5).
In the first set, Harvard clawed back from a 13-8 deficit to tie it at 15-15, but USC soon after scored 3 unanswered points to build a 19-16 edge and was not threatened while hitting .526 in the set and posting 4.0 blocks. The second set was tied at 19-19 before Harvard scored 6 of the final 8 points. USC scored 3 straight points to open a 13-10 margin in the third set before Harvard knotted it at 21-21, but the Trojans restored order soon after with back-to-back points for a 24-22 margin. In the final set, USC got off to a 6-3 lead and held it until Harvard tied it at 24 all, but USC prevailed in extra time, punctuated by a match-ending Lossone kill.
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