LOS ANGELES – Tim Dobbert and Jake Langlois helped No. 3 BYU men’s volleyball beat USC in three sets (27-25, 25-17, 25-16) Friday night at the Galen Center.
"I'm happy for the guys and their performance as a team tonight," BYU head coach Shawn Olmstead said. "Tim did a great job tonight, and Jake was aggressive in all areas. It was good to get some reps for the others as well, and they did a good job in that role."
Langlois led the Cougars with 12 kills while adding four digs. Dobbert had 11 kills hitting on a .500 clip, six digs and four blocks. Leo Durkin set the offense with 33 assists and Price Jarman added a team-high five blocks. Erik Sikes had a season-high 12 digs in the win.
USC (3-9, 2-7 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) got off to a quick 8-3 lead in the first set, hitting at a .700 clip before BYU (10-2, 5-1 MPSF) took its first timeout. Kills from Langlois and Brenden Sander kept the Cougars in the set, trailing 12-8. A kill and block from Joseph Grosh then helped put BYU within just one, down 16-15. A 4-1 Cougar run eventually pushed BYU ahead 19-18, forcing a Trojan timeout. With the Cougars up 22-20, USC scored three-straight points to take a 23-22 advantage. Each side fought off set points before a kill from Sander ended the close set for BYU 27-25.
A Sander kill kept the second set close, tied 4-4 early on. A 5-0 Cougar run, capped off by a Langlois ace and kill, followed to give BYU a 12-8 advantage. A Jarman and Kiril Meretev block extended the Cougar lead to five, 16-11. BYU cruised from there as Dobbert collected the last two points of the set to give the Cougars a 25-17 set two win.
BYU jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set following a Dobbert and Jarman block. The Trojans countered with a 3-1 rally to get back within two, down 6-4. The teams remained close from there until a Grosh ace and Dobbert kill extended the Cougars’ advantage to four, 14-10, forcing a USC timeout. Five-consecutive points brought BYU ahead 21-12, and the Cougars ran away with the set and match, winning 25-16 off a Trojan service error.
BYU returns home to the Smith Fieldhouse next week facing off against UC San Diego beginning Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. MST. More details can be found on the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page.