Feb. 8, 2013

Box Score

Taylor Crabb had 20 kills to lead the No. 3-ranked Long Beach State men's volleyball team to a 25-21, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22 victory over No. 8 USC in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match in Long Beach on Friday (Feb. 8).

The 49ers improved to 9-4 overall and 7-3 in the MPSF while snapping an 8-match losing streak to the Trojans. USC fell to 2-5 overall and in the MPSF while losing its fourth straight match, its longest losing skid in a season since 2008.

Long Beach State hit .370 to USC's .271.

For Troy, Ben Lam had 13 kills while hitting .579 and added 5 blocks, Tanner Jansen also had 13 kills, Robert Feathers had 10 kills (hitting .562) and 5 blocks and Austin Rysyk had 9 kills.

Crabb, who hit .341, added 6 digs and 4 blocks. Long Beach State teammate Jeff Ornee had 9 kills and 5 blocks, Dalton Ammerman had 9 kills, 7 digs and 4 blocks, Colten Echave had 8 kills (hitting .455), Andrew Sato had 8 digs and Taylor Gregory had 6 blocks.

The first set remained tight until LBSU scored 2 unanswered points to forge a 21-19 lead, helping it score 6 of the set's final 8 points. The 49ers pulled away early in the second set, going up 4-2 and then 7-3, and were never threatened. USC turned the tide in similar fashion in the third set, building steadily on an early 4-2 margin. The fourth set was tied at 11-11 before LBSU scored 2 consecutive points and the Trojans could never catch up.

USC now returns home for 3 MPSF matches in a 5-day span in the Galen Center: hosting No. 12 Cal Baptist on Thursday (Feb. 14) at 7 p.m., No. 1 BYU on Saturday (Feb. 16) at 7 p.m. and crosstown rival No. 6 UCLA on Monday (Feb. 18) at 8 p.m. in a match televised live on Pac-12 Networks.