Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
5-0, 2-0MPSF
USC
0-4, 0-2MPSF
LBSU Continues Perfect Start with 3-1 Win over USC
1/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
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LONG BEACH - The third-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team continued its perfect start to the season with a 20-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-17 win over No. 13 USC Saturday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
The Beach improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in MPSF play, marking their best five-match start since 2008.
Freshman TJ DeFalco led the 49er attack for the third-straight outing as he finished with 19 kills on .361 hitting. He also totaled eight digs, four blocks and three aces.
Senior Taylor Gregory had a career-high 11 kills on 12 attempts for a blistering .917 clip. He added a season-best five blocks. Junior Bryce Yould contributed 11 kills (.625) and a match-high six blocks.
Junior Andrew Sato registered his second consecutive double-figure dig match with 10, while freshman Josh Tuaniga guided the LBSU offense to .377 hitting with 49 assists. Tuaniga chipped in seven digs and four blocks.
USC (0-4, 0-2 MPSF) pulled ahead, 9-3, early in the first set thanks to six-straight points that were bookended by aces from Alex Slaught. Yould then sided out with a kill, sparking an 8-3 run that brought Long Beach State within one at 12-11. The Trojans were able to stay out front, however, and made the final push for the 25-20 win.
The Beach came back strong in set two where it took a 9-5 lead following a DeFalco kill and ace. After trading points to 10-7, LBSU used a 5-1 spurt, capped by back-to-back blocks from Gregory and Tuaniga, to go on top, 15-8. USC made a late run to close the gap to three (19-16), but the 49ers finished strong, taking the set, 25-17, on a Yould kill.
Long Beach State erased a three-point deficit to go up, 8-7, in the third frame. The home team kept the slight edge until the Trojans knotted the score at 12-12. It remained close until the Beach went on a 6-1 run to pull ahead, 19-14. USC was never able to recover as a Tuaniga kill ended it in favor of LBSU, 25-21.
The fourth set started with four tie scores before the 49ers took the lead for good at 5-4 on a DeFalco kill. Long Beach State made a strong run midway through the set to increase its cushion to 14-9 after a kill from sophomore Davis Cannon. The Beach was in control the rest of the way as it won the set and match, 25-17.
USC hit just .191 on the night. Lucas Yoder paced the Trojans with 12 kills.
Long Beach State is back in action next weekend when it plays host to top-ranked BYU on Friday (Jan. 22) and Saturday (Jan. 23). First serve for both matches is 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
NOTES: Senior middle blocker Taylor Gregory has not committed a hitting error on 46 attempts ... He is hitting .783 (36-0-46) on the season ... Junior middle blocker Bryce Yould also owns a .633 attack percentage and has reached double figures in kills in each of the last two outings ... Freshman outside hitter TJ DeFalco registered multiple aces for the third time in five matches ... He also notched his fourth double-figure kill match ... The Beach has hit better than .300 in every contest.
