USC Men's Volleyball Tops Crusaders in NCAA Opener

Friday, May 1

Honolulu, Hawai'i

5:00 p.m. HT / 8:00 p.m. PT

USC

20-7,9-5MPSFMVB

Belmont Abbey

20-6,13-1Conference Carolinas

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Belmont Abbey	18	20	21	0
Southern California	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Sarah Fitzgerald

USC Men's Volleyball Tops Crusaders in NCAA Opener

May 01, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Highlights Press Conference

Dillon Klein had 11 kills and Cooper Keane added 10 in a sweep of Belmont Abbey

HONOLULU – The USC men's volleyball team (20-7) defeated No. 20 Belmont Abbey (20-6) in straight sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-21) to advance through the NCAA championship regional round at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center on Friday, May 1. The Trojans move on to face second-seeded site host Hawai'i (27-5) in the regional final on Saturday, May 2, at 4 p.m. HT (7 p.m. PT).

KEY PLAYERS

Sr. OH Dillon Klein reached double-digit kills for the 83rd time in his career and finished with 11 (3e, 22att) to hit .364 and totaled 14.0 points with two service aces and a pair of blocks. He also had four digs.
Fr. OPP Cooper Keane turned in 10 kills (4e, 16att) on .375 hitting and led the Trojans with seven digs.
So. OH Sterling Foley racked up nine kills (2e, 17att) for .412 hitting and added a pair of aces and a block for 11.5 points to go with two digs.
So. MB Parker Tomkinson had five kills on just six swings to hit .833 and had two blocks, two digs, and an ace.
Redshirt So. MB Wesley Smith collected four kills on seven attempts (.571) and led the team with three blocks.
Fr. S Andrew Chapin registered a career-high 34 assists and had two blocks, two digs, an ace, and a kill.
For the Crusaders, Zach Puentes led all players with 14.5 points earned on 12 kills (2e, 23att, .435) and served two of Belmont Abbey's five aces. Caden Day added six kills (2e, 14att, .286) with two digs. Leon Alejandro led the Crusaders with seven digs and had an assist and a kill.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USC hit .417 in the match (40k, 10e, 72att) to outpace Belmont Abbey's .153 attack rate (27k, 16e, 72att). It was the Trojans' 21st match over .300 and the team's 12th hitting over .350; its 10th time north of .400. USC also had more assists (37-26), digs (21-19), blocks (5.0-4.5) and aces (6-5) than the Crusaders.
The Trojans used a big 7-0 run to open an 8-2 lead in the opening set, but Puentes caught fire to score three kills on four rallies and then served two aces to bring the Crusaders within two at 12-10. Belmont Abbey then turned a 5-0 run into a lead at 13-12, but USC responded when Foley had back-to-back kills to go ahead by three, 17-14. Back-to-back blocks by Smith put set point on the board for the Trojans before USC closed out a 25-18 win. Keane led the Trojans with five kills while Foley had three. Klein had two and served USC's only ace of the opening frame. The Trojans hit .458 in set one.
Tomkinson served up and ace to make the score, 7-3, in the second, but Belmont Abbey trimmed that lead to one with a 4-1 burst. Keane went crosscourt for the kill and a three-point lead at 12-9 and then tooled the Crusader block for a four-point lead at 15-11. The Trojans maintained their distance and finished off a 25-20 win to go on top, 2-0, in the match. Keane added four more kills, Foley and Klein had three apiece, and Smith and Tomkinson added two each to help USC hit .417 in set two with 14 kills (4e) on 24 attacks.
Set three was tied 11 times and had five lead changes before USC took charge to claim the sweep with a 25-21 win. Klein poured in six of his kills in the third and did it on just 10 attempts while Foley added three kills and Tomkinson had two. Klein and Chapin each scored from the service line while Chapin's 12 assists lifted USC to a .375 hitting percentage with 13 kills (4e) on 24 attempts. The Trojans put up two more blocks and held the Crusaders to .095 hitting with eight kills (6e) on 21 attacks.

UP NEXT

USC advances to face second-seeded site host Hawai'i (27-5) in the regional final set for 4 p.m. HT (7 p.m. PT). The teams will meet at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center and be shown live on ESPN+. The last time the Trojans and Warriors met, USC defeated UH in four sets to win the 2025 Outrigger Invitational (March 15, 2025).

MATCH NOTES

USC and Belmont Abbey met for the first time.
The Trojans improved to 11-7 in matches against ranked opponents this season.
USC played its fourth neutral site match of the season and moved to 7-4 away from home (3-1 in neutral contests).
The Trojans improved to 18-11 in NCAA tournament matches, which now includes a 2-1 mark in the city of Honolulu.

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, TikTok, and Instagram.