LOS ANGELES, Calif. – No. 9 Penn State Men's Volleyball opened the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 15-25, 25-23) loss at No. 12 USC on Wednesday night. It was the Nittany Lions' third in a stretch of four consecutive matches against nationally-ranked opponents during their trip to California.
Penn State dropped to 13-5, while USC improved to 11-8. The teams have traded wins in their last six matchups against each other dating back to 2018.
John Kerr had a strong performance for the Nittany Lions with 21 kills on .405 hitting in addition to four digs and one of the team's seven aces. Toby Ezeonu led the way in the ace category with four while adding seven kills and three blocks. Michal Kowal and Owen Rose chipped in with one ace apiece.
Riley Haine paced USC with 11 kills on .429 hitting and three blocks. Jack Deuchar and Dillon Klein tallied 14 and 13 kills, respectively.
Set 1
Penn State made a late run in the opening set, but USC came out on top 25-22. The Trojans led 23-17 after a kill by Deuchar, but the Nittany Lions followed with a 4-0 run that was started with a kill by Kerr. A service error put an end to the run. A kill by Rose denied USC's first chance at set point, but Klein came through with a kill on the second attempt. Kerr finished with six kills in the set for the Nittany Lions.
Set 2
Klein, Haine and Deuchar had five kills apiece to lead USC to a 25-19 win in the second set. Haine was perfect as his five kills came on five attacks. The Trojans pulled away with a 4-0 run that made it 22-16. They eventually won the set with a kill by Klein.
Set 3
Penn State held USC to -.087 hitting and never trailed on its way to a 25-15 win in set three. Ezeonu had three kills and three aces, while Kerr tallied four kills. Ezeonu helped the Nittany Lions distance themselves with a strong serving run that included three aces in a span of four points to make it a 22-13 lead. The set was eventually won with a kill by Kerr off a set from Michael Schwob.
Set 4
Kerr's nine kills on .429 hitting in set four weren't enough as USC clinched the match with a 25-23 win. The set included 12 ties and three lead changes. Penn State led 18-6 after a kill by Kerr before USC tied it up at 18-18 with the next two points. Following a service error, the Trojans scored back-to-back points again to go up 20-19. USC service errors helped Penn State tie the score at 20-20 and 21-21, and a kill by Kerr tied it again at 22-22. The next two USC points were scored from the service line, the first by a Penn State error and the second by an ace from Caleb Blanchette to give the Trojans a 24-22 advantage. Kerr's final kill of the night gave the Nittany Lions hope but they followed with a service error to end the match in the favor of the Trojans.
Up Next
No. 9 Penn State wraps up the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge with a match against No. 4 UCLA at USC's Galen Center Pavilion on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
