PROVO, Utah – The No. 10 Cougars dropped a five-set decision to the No. 4 Trojans (25-19, 27-29, 25-18, 21-25, 12-15) on Saturday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.
BYU now moves to 20-9 overall this season and 7-5 in MPSF play to sit in fourth place in the conference. Just two matches remain in the reugular season for the Cougars next weekend at No. 1 UCLA. BYU then returns home to host the MPSF Tournament.
"I'm super proud of the guys, and losses are always tough, but you live and you learn," said Shawn Olmstead, BYU head coach. "We're going on the road now, but we're excited to get back to Provo."
Tonight after the match, Trent Moser, Tyler Herget, Jackson Fife and Cole Hauser were honored for their contribution to the program as seniors. Both Moser and Herget notched career-high performances, with Moser racking up 26 kills and Herget 63 assists. Moser had 10 kills in the third set and recorded a .452 hitting clip. Additionally, Fife recorded four digs as Hauser added an ace.
Trevor Herget posted a career-high 14 kills. Teilon-Jonathan Tufuga recorded two aces, putting him at 40 this season. He’s one of only 12 players in program history to reach 40 aces in a single season.
Set 1
BYU opened the first set on a 3-1 spurt, led by two-straight Trojan attack errors. The teams exchanged points until the Cougars were able to get back on a run, which was powered by three early blocks from AJ Cottle to push a 10-6 advantage.
USC fought back with a 3-0 run of its own, but a Cottle ace helped the Cougars stay ahead by three. Moser added a pair of kills, and three points later, BYU kick-started a 3-1 run that forced the Trojans to call a timeout at 22-17.
A Herget kill helped BYU reach set point, and while USC fended it off once, a Moser kill earned the Cougars the first set, 25-19, with BYU hitting a .643 clip.
Set 2
The Trojans began set two with a 3-0 burst, but a 3-1 Cougar run helped knot the score at 4. Connor Oldani and Moser each posted a kill to help lead a 3-0 run and take the lead, 8-7.
The teams traded kills until BYU was able to take the lead at 17-16 when Cole Hauser recorded an ace. USC replied with a 3-0 run off three Cougar errors, giving it a two-point advantage and forcing a BYU timeout.
The Trojans extended its lead to 23-19 on an ace. BYU would not allow this lead much longer, as it fought back with four-straight points of its own, capped by a Tufuga ace to knot the score at 23.
After battling set point five times, a BYU service error and a Trojan kill earned USC the second set, 29-27. Set two consisted of 20 ties and eight lead changes. Additionally, neither team led by more than one point for 34 consecutive points from 3-1 to 20-18.
Set 3
A Moser kill and three USC errors pushed a 4-2 advantage for BYU. Neither team was able to engineer a run until a duo of kills from Herget and Moser put the Cougars in front, 14-11.
Out of a Trojan timeout, BYU capped its spurt at four off two USC errors. The Trojans attempted to fight back from a six-point deficit but an Oldani kill kept BYU in front, 22-17.
Herget found Moser for a kill to reach set point, and then Trevor Herget closed the set with an ace on a 78-mile-per-hour serve to make it 25-18. The Cougars held the lead for almost the entirety of the set.
Set 4
The fourth set opened as a tight contest with six ties in the first 12 points. Then USC kick-started a 3-0 flurry on two kills and an ace. BYU stopped a 6-1 Trojan run at 12-8.
Both teams exchanged kills but USC was able to hold its advantage. Another 3-0 Trojan run helped push their lead to 21-14.
Back-to-back Herget kills cut the deficit to four, forcing a Trojan timeout. Following the break, USC knocked down a kill to get set point, but BYU stopped the Trojans twice. A USC kill earned it the fourth set, 25-21.
Set 5
Despite the set opening back-and-forth, the Trojans found momentum and went on a 4-1 run to go up 7-3 and force a Cougar timeout.
Out of the timeout, BYU went on a 3-0 run, highlighted by a pair of Oldani kills. Another Tufuga ace tied the game at eight, but then three-straight Trojan points took the set to 12-10.
USC kept its advantage and reached set point on a Cougar error. The Cougars held them once, but a BYU serving error won the Trojans the set and match, 15-12.
Up Next
BYU will head to UCLA’s Pauley Pavillion in Los Angeles, Calif. on Apr. 16 and 18 for its final duo of matches in the regular season, facing the No. 1 Bruins. The matches will be streamed live on B1G+.