BYU came back from last night’s loss with more energy Friday night, beating the No. 2 USC Trojans 3-1 in Los Angeles.
The Cougars started the match on fire with great passing, hitting, and some smart setting in the first set. BYU managed to make a small gap to lead 14-11 on kills form Matt Underwood, despite several aces from USC. BYU managed to hold on to their lead to take the first set 25-20.
BYU kept the energy going as they jumped out to a five point lead into the second set. USC worked to close that gap with an impressive rally to keep the ball alive taking the point on a spike. But BYU managed to stay in the lead and took the second set 25-19.
USC struggled to keep up as BYU’s tough serving and smart play limited mistakes. The Cougars had nine blocks in the first two sets while USC only had three.
But the Trojans came into the third set with new life after taking an early 6-1 lead. They pulled ahead leading throughout the set before the Cougars fought back to tie the set 23-23. USC eventually pulled through on the next two points, winning the set 25-23.
The fourth set began with another Trojans lead, but a big block from BYU’s defense tied the set 7-7. The Cougars took off from there and took a five-point lead. USC had nine attack errors in the fourth set alone, allowing BYU to take the fourth and final set 25-19 and match 3-1.
