Jan. 20, 2018
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| Pauley Pavilion | Los Angeles, Calif. | --- | |
| POSTGAME LINKS |
| Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF) |
| FINAL STATISTICS |
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - No. 9 Penn State used two rallies Saturday afternoon in Pauley Pavilion to down No. 13 USC 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 28-26, 17-15) in the final match of the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge for the Nittany Lions.
Trailing 23-18 late in the third set off a Sam Lewis kill for the Trojans, with the match tied 1-1, Penn State began its climb.
The Nittany Lions used a kill from Aidan Albrecht paired with a kill from Calvin Mende to get to within three of USC, trailing 23-20.
Both teams traded errors, Penn State an attack error, USC a service error to push the score to 24-21 in favor of Southern Cal.
The next two Blue & White points would come through Trojan errors as Ryan Moss and Jack Wyett each committed an attack error to inch the Lions closer to the lead. The errors led to a timeout by USC head coach Jeff Nygaard.
Out of the break, a third-straight Trojan error knotted the set at 24-24 with all the momentum on Penn State's side.
USC and Penn State traded a few points before the Nittany Lions pieced together two straight to give the Lions the set 28-26 and a lead 2-1 heading into the third off the swings of Jalen Penrose and an attack error by USC's Gianluca Grasso.
Southern Cal took set four convincingly, downing Penn State 25-19 forcing a fifth set.
Penn State played USC close in the fifth, never trailing by more than two points at any time in the set. Tied 14-14, Penn State closed out the Trojans with kills from Penrose and Albrecht to cap the match 3-2 and move to 3-1 on the season.
With the win, Penn State moves to 10-18 all-time vs. Southern Cal.
Four Nittany Lions finished with double-digit kills including Albrecht (18), Matthew McLaren (15), Mende (15) and Penrose (15).
Braswell Recorded 60-assists, while also tying for the team lead in digs at six - McLaren, Albrecht, Mende, Clemens also had six digs.
Penn State will hit the road once again as the Nittany Lions head to Columbus, Ohio to face the defending NCAA Champion Buckeyes Jan. 28th at 2 p.m. ET in St. John Arena.
For more on Nittany Lion men's volleyball, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateMVBall