USC
2-7,0-1MPSF
UC Irvine
5-3,0-0Big West
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No. 5 UC Irvine Men's Volleyball Holds On To Defeat USC
February 01, 2020 | Men's Volleyball, Features
Alexandre Nsakanda had 14 kills and 4 aces and Scott Stadick added 11 blocks to help the No. 5-ranked UC Irvine men's volleyball team hold on to post a 25-22, 25-14, 13-25, 27-25 non-conference win over USC on Saturday (Feb. 1) in USC's North Gym.
UC Irvine improved to 5-3 overall, while USC fell to 2-7 in 2020. It is USC's slowest start since also beginning the 2017 season at 2-7.
It was Jeff Nygaard's first loss as a Trojan head or assistant coach in 14 matches in USC's North Gym. The match was played in the original home of USC volleyball because of a scheduling conflict in the Galen Center, Troy's current home.
First-year freshman Adam Flood, in only his third start, led USC with 13 kills while hitting .409. Teammate Billy Fauntleroy came off the bench to add 9 kills and 10 digs, Sam Lewis had 7 kills and 4 blocks and Chris Hall had 12 digs and 3 blocks.
Nsakanda hit .522 for UC Irvine. Joel Schneidmiller added 12 kills for the Anteaters, while JB Kam had 8 kills.
UCI hit .253 to USC's .237. The Anteaters had more blocks (13.0 to 6.0), while the Trojans had more digs (31 to 21). Both teams served 9 aces.
UC Irvine used a 4-0 run in the first set to build a 12-9 lead that it never surrendered while hitting .423 and getting 4.0 blocks. The Anteaters used another early 4-point run in the second set to go up 8-4 and steadily extended the lead while putting up 5.0 blocks and serving 5 aces. The third set was tight until the Trojans went on an 11-point run to forge a 24-12 lead (they hit .500 in the set with 5 aces, 10 digs and 3.0 blocks). The fourth set stayed close until USC's 4 unanswered points gave Troy a 14-10 lead and the Trojans got it to 20-14, but UCI caught up at 24-24 and then tallied 3 of the match's final 4 points.
USC now travels to No. 15 UC San Diego on Thursday (Feb. 6) for a non-conference match, then resumes Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play when it hosts Grand Canyon on Saturday (Feb. 8) in the Galen Center. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. PT.
