MVB Suffers 3-0 Setback to USC

HONOLULU, Hawaii – No. 12 Ball State men's volleyball fell 3-0 (22-25, 17-25, 19-25) to No. 5 University of Southern California in SimpliFi Arena Friday evening for the second match of the Outrigger Tournament.

The Trojans took a 2-0 lead on back-to-back kills to open the match. Braydon Savitski-Lynde answered with a kill, putting the Cardinals on the board. Ball State tried stay close, but the Trojans continued to pull away. Five points from the Trojans, broken up by a single USC service error, put the Cardinals down 4-9. Ball State was able to put together enough points to get within one at 16-17. Entering the final points of the frame, Ball State trailed 20-22 and the Trojans put up two to hit match point. Trying to stay in the fight, a block solo from Lucas Machado and a Trojan attack error put Ball State within striking distance at 22-24, but USC was able to close the first on a 25-22 kill.

After dropping the first set, the Cardinals were never quite able to build enough momentum to slow the USC team. The Trojans took set two 25-17 and closed the match on a 25-19 final frame.

Tinaishe Ndavazocheva led Ball State's offensive efforts, recording eight kills and hitting at a .583 clip.

On the defensive front, the Cardinals recorded five and a half blocks on the night in comparison to the Trojans' three.

Concluding the Outrigger Tournament, Ball State will take on No. 19 Penn State tomorrow (Mar. 15) afternoon for a 4 p.m. HT first serve. The match will not be live streamed.

Next Event

Team Stats

Tinaishe Ndavazocheva

Rajé Alleyne

Patrick Rogers

Wil Basilio

Players Mentioned

Lucas Machado

Tinaishe Ndavazocheva

Braydon Savitski-Lynde