PROVO, Utah — No. 15 BYU men’s volleyball suffered its ninth consecutive loss after the No. 6 USC Trojans swept (18-25, 10-25, 17-25) the Cougars in the Galen Center on Saturday. This is BYU’s longest losing streak since losing 14 straight back in 1990.
BYU now holds an overall season record of 5-11 and the Cougars are 0-4 in the MPSF.
The No. 2 team in the NCAA in team attacks per set (28.21), the Trojans put up 38 kills and a .523 hitting percentage. On the flip side, the Cougars had a season-low night, tallying their lowest kill count, 23, and lowest clip, .076.
USC’s Simon Gallas and Lucas Frassrand each led offensively with 10 kills on the night.
SET ONE
BYU's Teon Taylor started the night with a quick kill. BYU’s lead was short-lived as USC’s Gallas laid down three straight kills to put the Trojans on a 5-0 run. While USC still held a lead, the team forfeited three points due to service errors. Kills by BYU's Gavin Julien and freshman outside hitter Luke Benson allowed BYU to stay close behind at 10-6.
BYU's Davide Gardini and Benson tacked on kills, but the Trojans maintained their edge with a kill and the first ace of the night, thanks to Chris Hall. Benson fired back with another two kills. The Trojans continued to match the Cougars’ points, holding a six-point lead at 16-10.
From there, BYU's Kuponu Browne, Benson, Gardini and Julien tallied kills in attempts to close the gap. However, those efforts were canceled out after six detrimental errors by the Cougars allowed the Trojans to reach set point at 24-18. One more USC kill solidified a .526 clip and a set win at 25-18 for the Trojans.
SET TWO
The Trojans started the set with a 3-0 run, including two kills by USC’s Sam Kobrine. A service error put the Cougars on the board before USC’s Liam Schroeder slammed two more kills to start another 3-0 run for USC, extending its lead to 7-2.
Browne and Gardini tacked on kills, however, a 10-2 run by USC commenced, featuring three kills and an ace by Korbine and six BYU errors. This propelled the Trojans ahead to 20-8. The Cougars earned two more points due to USC errors, but three more kills and two aces by the Trojans secured another set win for USC at 25-10.
SET THREE
Set three featured the first tied scores of the evening. Ramanis tallied a quick kill to give BYU the lead. From there, the teams traded points, tying another three times by 4-4. USC broke away with a 3-0 run due to consecutive BYU errors. Ramanis slammed another kill, but USC’s Frassrand countered with three of his own, keeping the Trojans ahead at 10-6.
The teams traded points until Frassrand showed off with another two kills, widening USC’s lead to 15-10. Freshman opposite hitter Anthony Cherfan contributed to BYU’s tally with two kills. Four BYU errors paired with four USC kills gave the Trojans a 10-point lead at 23-13.
The Cougars posted a 4-1 run in an attempt to make a comeback, but their .105 clip proved insufficient. One final USC kill sealed the Trojans their third set-win at 25-17.
Up next, BYU will host Concordia University Irvine in the Smith Fieldhouse for a two-match series starting on Friday, March 11 at 7 p.m. MDT.