No. 3 USC Men's Volleyball Falls to No. 8 Pepperdine in Rematch

Saturday, April 5

Malibu, Calif.

5:00 p.m. PT

USC

19-3,7-1MPSF

Pepperdine

15-7,7-3MPSF

Southern California

Pepperdine

Photo by: Kate Tsao

No. 3 USC Men's Volleyball Falls to No. 8 Pepperdine in Rematch

April 05, 2025 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

The Trojans had a 10-match win streak halted by the Waves in a four-set decision in Malibu

MALIBU, Calif. – The No. 3-ranked USC men's volleyball team (19-3, 7-1 MPSF) had a 10-match win streak snapped in a four-set loss (21-25, 25-20, 25-15, 25-21) to No. 8 Pepperdine (15-7, 7-3) at Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday, April 5.

KEY PLAYERS

Fr. OH Sterling Foley led the Trojans with 12 kills (5e, 33att, .212) and added seven digs, two blocks, and two service aces. It was his 10th match in double-digit kills and his 15th in double-digit points (15.0).
Fr. MB Parker Tomkinson racked up eight kills without an error (15att) to hit .533 and added a team-high six blocks. It was his ninth match in double-digit points (11.0).
Redshirt So. OH Riley Haine got the start and finished with six kills, six digs, two blocks, and a service ace.
So. S Caleb Blanchette had 27 assists, four digs, and three blocks.
Fr. LIB Johnny Dykstra dug up 10 attacks for his seventh match in double-digit digs.
Fr. OH Eamon Rigdon played in the fourth and collected three kills (0e) on five swings to hit .600 and had a block.
For the Waves, Cole Hartke led with 18 kills (5e, 38att) and .342 hitting to go with five blocks and two aces. Ryan Barnett had 16 kills with four blocks and three aces. Gabriel Dyer had 42 assists and 12 digs for the double-double.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Trojans were out-hit by the Waves, .248 to .133 in their lowest hitting output of the season. Pepperdine held the USC attack down with 17.0 blocks and 40 digs to the Trojans' eight blocks and 34 digs.
Set one was tied for the eighth time at 17-all, but the Trojans broke through and collected a 25-21 win. Haine had three kills and Tomkinson tallied two. The Trojans hit just .083 with eight kills, but USC still outpaced Pepperdine's .065 with 12 kills and 10 errors on 31 swings. Hartke and Ethan Watson each had four kills apiece to lead the Waves.
Foley led the Trojans with five kills in the second set, but Pepperdine broke the fourth tie to go in front, 13-12 and then broke away to claim a 25-20 win to even the match. Both teams had 12 kills apiece in the second frame, but the Trojans hit just .212 (5e, 33att) while the Waves hit .250 (5e, 28att) with Hartke leading the way with five kills.
USC led just once in the third at 6-5 before the Waves took over and went in front by as many as 10 points for a 25-15 win. Pepperdine put up six blocks and held the Trojans to a negative .065 hitting rate with seven kills (9e) on 31 attempts. Meanwhile, the Waves hit .400 with 12 kills (2e) on 25 swings and got three more kills from Hartke and five from Barnett.
The Trojans scored the first point of set four, but Pepperdine led the rest of the way to close out the match on a 25-21 win. Foley led USC's fourth-quarter attack with five kills and Rigdon tallied all three of his kills in the final frame. Tomkinson added three more to help the Trojans hit .320 (12k. 4e, 25att). Pepperdine also hit .320 with 13 kills (5e, 25att) while Barnett (7) and Hartke (6) had all the kills for the Waves.

UP NEXT

USC hosts No. 12 Stanford (8-12, 2-8 MPSF) for a pair of home matches at Galen Center next weekend. The Trojans meet the Cardinal on Friday (April 11) at 7 p.m. PT and then clash again for a rematch at 5 p.m. on Saturday (April 12). Both matches will be shown live on Big Ten Plus (B1G+) streams.

MATCH NOTES

USC falls to 45-78 all-time against Pepperdine and splits the season series with the Waves.
Without OH Dillon Klein available, the Trojans started a different lineup for the first time in seven matches.

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.