No. 5 USC Men’s Volleyball Takes Down No. 3 Hawai’i to Win Outrigger Invitational

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Next Match:
Grand Canyon
3/28/2025 | 7:00 p.m. PT

Mar. 28 (Fri) / 7:00 p.m. PT

 Grand Canyon

HONOLULU – The No. 5 USC men’s volleyball team (16-2, 4-0 MPSF) claimed the Outrigger Invitational crown in a four-set victory (25-21, 25-20, 26-28, 25-21) over third-ranked host Hawai’i (19-2) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Saturday, March 15. The win pushes USC’s active win streak to seven matches and is the Trojans’ ninth win over a ranked opponent this spring. OH Dillon Klein was chosen as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and was joined on the all-tournament team by OPP Jack Deuchar and MB Parker Tomkinson.
 
KEY PLAYERS

• Jr. OH Dillon Klein was nearly unstoppable as he led the Trojans with 21 kills (1e, 34att) to hit a scorching .588. He also had three blocks (one solo), a service ace, and five digs. It was Klein’s 14th time this season in double-digit kills (55th career).
• Redshirt Sr. OPP Jack Deuchar had his fifth match in double-digits and finished with 15 kills (4e, 34att) on .324 hitting. He tied his career high with five service aces and had three blocks and six digs to finish with 21.5 points.
• So. S Caleb Blanchette set the Trojans to their 16th match over .300 hitting as he dished out 50 assists to go with five digs.
• Fr. OH Sterling Foley reached double-digit kills for the seventh time and finished with 12 (4e, .258) on 31 attacks to go with five digs, four blocks, and a service ace for 15.0 points, his 11th time in double-digit points.
• Gr. MB Guy Genis tallied five kills (0e, 7att) and hit .714 to go with three blocks.
• Fr. MB Parker Tomkinson led the Trojans with five blocks and logged four kills and three digs.
• Fr. LIB Johnny Dykstra tied for match-high honors with 10 digs to register his sixth contest in double digits.
• For the Rainbow Warriors, Kristian Titriyski had a career-high 23 kills (12e, 49att) but hit .224 and had four digs. Adrien Roure poured in 17 kills (3e) on 31 swings to hit .452 to go with nine digs and two blocks. ‘Eleu Choy had 10 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USC hit north of .300 for the 16th time in 18 matches and finished with a .390 hitting percentage (57k, 11e, 118att). The Trojans out-hit Hawai’i, which finished at .303 (63k, 23e, 132att) and had more blocks (9.5-5.5) and aces (7-6).
• The Trojans hit .545 (13k, 1e, 22att) and collected four blocks and had a service ace for a 25-21 win in set one. Klein led the way with six kills (0e, 7att) on .857 hitting while Deuchar and Genis tallied three kills apiece. Deuchar led the Trojans’ floor defense with three digs and had the team’s only service ace. Hawai’i scored on four service aces but was held to .267 hitting with 15 kills (7e) on 30 swings. The Warriors’ only lead came at 2-1 and USC led by as many as six at 22-16.
• Hawai’i led set two by as many as four points at 10-6, but the Trojans chipped away and knotted things up at 14-all. From there, USC drove the train and finished out a 25-20 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match. Klein racked up eight kills on just 10 swings without an error to hit .800 while Deuchar casually tossed in four kills and had three of his aces.
• The Trojans had their chances with a 22-19 lead in the third and had match point at 24-23 despite a furious Hawai’i comeback. The Warriors saved another set point, down 25-24, and then pushed for the fourth set with a 28-26 win. Foley had the hot hand in set three and poured in six kills (1e, 10att) to hit .500. Klein had four digs but was only set four balls and had one kill. Deuchar tallied five kills in the third.
• USC led by four early in the fourth, 7-3. Back-to-back kills by Klein put the Trojans in front by a point at the media timeout, 15-14, but back-to-back Klein blocks extended the Trojans to a 7-0 run for a 19-14 lead. USC led by five again at 22-17, but the Warriors pulled within two points at 23-21 before a Foley kill righted the ship for the Trojans. Titriyski’s ball sailed wide of the court to lodge the final point of the match and a 25-21 win for USC in the fourth. 

UP NEXT

• USC will play its next matches as host to Grand Canyon, March 28 and 29 at Galen Center. The Friday-night meeting is set for 7 p.m. PT and the rematch is at 5 p.m. on Saturday night. Both matches will be shown live on Big Ten Plus (B1G+).

MATCH NOTES

• USC improved to 40-45 all-time against Hawai’i and snapped a four-match string of losses to the Warriors.
• The Trojans collected their ninth win over a ranked opponent this season; their third over a top 10 team. All three wins against top 10 opponents have come on the road.
• USC hit over .300 (.390) for the 16th time in 18 matches.
• The Trojans’ seven-match win streak is second-longest this season only to USC’s 9-0 start to open the year.
• USC’s win against Hawai’i snapped a 10-match win streak by the Warriors.
• Hawai’i’s reported attendance of 8,599 fans at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center is the most this season for an NCAA men’s volleyball match.
• USC improved to 7-1 in true road matches this season.

For more information on the USC men’s volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/MVB. Fans of the Trojans can follow @USCMensVolley on Facebook, X, and Instagram.