Stanford University’s men’s volleyball team lost to the University of Southern California in three sets on April 3 at the Galen Center. Moses Wagner led Stanford with 14 kills, but the team was unable to overcome USC’s strong performance, falling by scores of 14-25, 21-25, and 22-25.
The match highlighted a tough night for Stanford (9-11, 6-3 MPSF), which recorded a .178 hitting percentage as a team. In contrast, USC (15-3, 7-2 MPSF) finished with a .388 hitting percentage and started the match with an impressive .722 in the opening set.
Wagner’s efforts included not only his team-high kills but also three blocks and a dig. Alex Rottman contributed seven kills on .333 hitting along with four blocks, three digs, and an assist. Freshman Jacob Little-Phillips began as setter for Stanford and provided 13 assists over two sets before senior Theoren Brouillette took over in the third set with another 12 assists.
Sophomore libero Evan Porter achieved double-digit digs for the sixth time this season by collecting ten during the match. Other contributors included Nate Clinton with two kills and four digs across two sets before being replaced by David Wolff in the third set; Wolff added two kills of his own. Middle blocker Luke McFall registered two kills and four blocks while Kaumana Carreira also chipped in four blocks.
USC was led by Dillon Klein who posted a match-high fifteen kills on .478 hitting along with three aces. Cooper Keane supported Klein’s effort with thirteen kills on .429 hitting plus additional aces and digs.
Stanford will face USC again at the Galen Center on Saturday at 5 p.m.
