Long Beach State University
12-10, 8-9MPSF
USC
12-7,10-6MPSF
Beach Drops Five-Set Heartbreaker to No. 7 USC
3/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
LONG BEACH - The ninth-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team led two sets to one, but No. 7 USC was able to avoid the upset as the Trojans came from behind for the 21-25, 25-19, 14-25, 25-19, 15-10 victory Friday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach saw its three-match MPSF win streak come to an end, falling to 12-10 overall and 8-9 in conference play.
Junior John La Rusch finished with a season-best 17 kills to go along with nine digs. Sophomore Eric Ensing added 10 kills, five digs and four blocks, while junior Taylor Gregory had another big night at the net with nine kills and a match-high eight blocks.
Sophomore Curtis Stallings registered his fifth double-double of the year with 41 assists and 11 digs. Junior Cody Martin also provided a late spark for the 49ers as he had five kills and five digs in his return from an injury. After seeing time as a serving sub in Wednesday's match, Martin resumed his role at outside hitter as he came on in place of Dan Glamack in the fourth and fifth sets. Glamack struggled on offense, but finished the evening with 11 digs.
Long Beach State got off to a quick start in the first set as it took a 4-0 lead following a kill from Gregory. USC finally sided out and it went back-and-forth until the Trojans knotted the score at 14-14 and again at 15-all. LBSU responded with a 3-0 spurt, capped by an Ensing kill, to pull ahead, 18-15. USC closed the gap to one at 20-19, but the Beach then reeled off four-straight points and went on to end it at 25-21 on a double block by Gregory and Glamack.
It was a seesaw battle early in set two with nine tie scores before the Trojans used a 5-1 run to go on top, 15-11. The 49ers called a timeout and got back-to-back kills from Stallings and La Rusch, but USC made another push for set point at 24-16. A service error followed by an Edgar Palos ace kept Long Beach State alive until a Larry Tuileta kill gave the Trojans the 25-19 win.
USC (12-7, 10-6 MPSF) went up 4-1 in the third frame, forcing the Beach to use an early timeout. It served the home team well as they came out of the break with four unanswered and extended that to a 13-3 run for a commanding 14-7 lead. LBSU remained in control as it rolled to the 25-14 victory.
The Trojans regrouped in the fourth stanza as they opened up with a 10-5 advantage. After the 49ers cut the deficit to two, USC proceeded to go on an 8-2 run to pull ahead, 19-11. The visitors stayed out front the rest of the way and forced a fifth game with a 25-19 win.
USC never trailed in the fifth and decisive set as it scored the first two points. The Beach came back to knot the score at 2-2, but the Trojans answered with a 6-3 spurt to take an 8-5 lead at the side switch. LBSU then made it a one-point game at 9-8, following kills from Martin and La Rusch. USC continued to side out, however, and made a late push for the 15-10 victory.
Christopher Orenic led the Trojans with a match-high 19 kills, while Tuileta (11 kills, 11 digs) and Micah Christenson (45 assists, 12 digs) each finished with a double-double.
Long Beach State returns to the Walter Pyramid next week when it closes out its season-long six-match homestand with MPSF contests against No. 4 Pepperdine (March 26) and No. 13 Stanford (March 28).
