No. 6 USC Men’s Volleyball Defeats Vanguard 3-1 in Non-Conference Match

LOS ANGELES —  Simon Gallas had 18 kills while hitting .500 to help the No. 6 ranked USC men's volleyball team defeat Vanguard 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16) at the Galen Center on Friday (Mar. 11). 
 
USC improves to 15-3 overall and the Trojans remain undefeated at home (11-0). The Lions drop to 9-5 overall. 
 
Senior Sam Kobrine tallied on 17 kills of his own (.433) and added on 5 digs and 1 ace. Brandon Browning added 10 kills (.316), 6 digs and 2 aces. 
 
For Vanguard Kyle Anema collected 13 kills hitting .212, while Filippo Meoni added 10 kills hitting .316.
 
As a team, USC hit .452 compared to Vanguard's .221. 
 
The Trojans jumped to an 16-10 lead to open the match. Vanguard played a scrappy game and closed in on USC to be within two points at 22-20. The Trojans pushed through the final points of the set to win 25-21. Browning, Kobrine and Gallas each scored four kills in the first set. 
 
The Trojans and the Lions exchanged points back and forth to begin the second set, until USC found its momentum to create a four-point lead at 13-9. Vanguard continued to battle and tied up the set at 22-22. USC scored the final three points to win the set 25-22.
 
Vanguard took control of the third set early as the Lions claimed a 14-9 lead. While the Trojans fought, the Lions never lost control of the lead and won the set 25-22. USC led the match 2-1 overall. 
 
USC took a 12-7 lead in the fourth set and never looked back. After extending their lead to 19-11, the Trojan continued to push points and closed out the fourth set 25-16 to win the match. 
 
Up next, USC will host its Alumni Match on Wednesday (Mar. 16) at 7 p.m. PT and return back to competition on Friday (Mar. 19) against non-conference opponent, Menlo at 7 p.m. PT in the Galen Center Pavilion.