UCSB's Vince Devany (No. 8) and Dylan Davis block one of USC's hits to score a point for the Gauchos.
The UCSB men’s volleyball team battled mightily but could not overcome top-ranked USC on Wednesday night as it was swept 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 at Rob Gym.
Led by reigning National Player of The Week Murphy Troy, who finished with 12 kills and a .632 hitting percentage, the Trojans were dominant across the stat sheet. More importantly, they played efficiently, committing five less service and attacking errors.
“Murphy was Murphy,” said Trojan coach Bill Ferguson. “He was real solid. We just kept plugging away and doing our thing.”
UCSB's Cullen Irons blasts a shot past a USC defender.
The Gauchos never trailed by more than 4 points in a game, but were doomed by key errors and missed opportunities.
“It’s going to take being ready right out of the gate, we weren’t ready,” said UCSB coach Rick McLaughlin about the sloppy play. “We didn’t get on a few tendencies that we talked about before the game, things that we knew they were going to do, and we let them do it. You can’t do that when you play the number one team. They’re too good. You can’t give them free points.”
“We played some really good volleyball, but what it really came down to in the end was a few errors throughout all the sets,” said UCSB’s Cullen Irons. “They made a couple small service runs and the problem was we didn’t match it. We all played great volleyball, everyone was contributing, I just wish we could have had a couple more stuffs. They’re the number one team in the country, and it’s well deserved. We just have to play a little bit more error free.”
Irons had 14 kills and six digs.
The key factor was the Trojans’ ability to shut down Jeff Menzel, who was held to nine kills and a .192 hitting percentage.
“We wanted to work Menzel and make life difficult for him,” said Ferguson. “We wanted to make some of the other guys beat us. And so far, so good.”
“If we’re passing well, we can counter it,” said McLaughlin of the Trojans’ focus on Menzel. “But we didn’t pass the ball well. They had us in trouble the whole night. Those guys did a good job, considering, but we need to pass better.”
UCSB plays host to Pepperdine on Friday at 7 p.m. at Rob Gym.
