No. 10 USC Men's Volleyball Falls to No. 7 UCSB in Season Opener

Thursday, January 5

Santa Barbara, Calif.

3:00 PM

USC

0-1,0-0MPSF

UC Santa Barbara

1-0,0-0Big West

Southern California

UC Santa Barbara

Photo by: Aaron Wilson

No. 10 USC Men's Volleyball Falls to No. 7 UCSB in Season Opener

January 05, 2023 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

The Trojans were led by 12 kills apiece from Kevin Kobrine and Simon Gallas

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The 10th-ranked USC men's volleyball team (0-1) was defeated by seventh-ranked UC Santa Barbara (1-0) in four sets (19-25, 25-16, 25-18, 25-23) to open the ASICS Invitational at Robertson Gymnasium on Thursday, Jan. 5.

KEY PLAYERS

Sr. OH Kevin Kobrine had 12 kills and hit .281 (3e, 32att) with two digs and a service ace in his USC debut.
Jr. OPP Simon Gallas collected 12 kills on 28 swings (.214) with seven digs, four blocks (one solo) and two aces.
Jr. S Nate Tennant put up 34 assists in his first collegiate start and set the Trojans to a .257 hitting percentage to go with five digs and three kills.
Sr. George Dyer wore the libero jersey in the Trojans' opener and put up a career-high eight digs and had two assists.
For the Gauchos, Ryan Wilcox led with 14 kills and had nine digs. Dayne Chalmers also reached double digits with 11 kills and added five digs. Jack Walmer put up 37 assists and set UCSB to a .358 hitting percentage.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USC trailed only briefly in the opening frame but turned the tables to take a 25-19 win powered by five kills from Gallas and two apiece from Kobrine and Kyle Paulson. The Trojans hit .500 with 12 kills on just 20 swings and served two aces.
UCSB seized early momentum in the second set and doubled up the Trojans at 18-9. Wilcox and Chalmers each had seven kills in set two and helped the Gauchos hit .520 in a 25-16 victory to even the match.
The Gauchos maintained control and never trailed in the third to go up, 2-1, with a 25-18 win. USC stayed within four points of UCSB most of the way, but the Gauchos hit .529 to stave off the Trojan comeback. Gallas and Kobrine each tallied three kills in the third while Dillon Klein posted four to lead the USC attack.
The score was tied eight times and the lead changed hands five times in the fourth before UCSB edged the Trojans, 25-23, to take the match. Kobrine had six kills in the frame and Gallas added three more. Tied at 12, USC used a 6-1 run to claim an 18-13 lead. The Gauchos responded with a 5-0 run later to regain the lead, 21-20, and fought off the Trojans' 23-22 advantage to take the win.

UP NEXT

USC continues play at the ASICS Invitational with a matchup against CSUN on Friday (Jan. 6) scheduled for 8 p.m. PT at Robertson Gymnasium in Santa Barbara, Calif.

MATCH NOTES

USC fell to 58-57 all-time against UC Santa Barbara and had a three-match win streak over the Gauchos stopped.
The Trojans fell to 33-21 in season openers with a 5-3 mark under eighth-year head coach Jeff Nygaard.

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 Twitter and Instagram.