Set One
The Trojans tallied the first three points of the night as they scored on two BYU errors and a kill. Tufuga recorded BYU’s first kill of the night on a Trojan overpass, but USC killed two balls from the back row and led 6-3.
The Cougars knotted the action up at 11 apiece on a Teon Taylor kill, Thiim kill and Thiim service ace. A Trojan error and another Thiim ace forced USC to call timeout as BYU led for the first time of the night, ahead 13-11.
The Trojans recorded three-straight kills and the Cougars called timeout down 17-19. Out of the timeout, BYU scored four-straight points highlighted by a Hales kill and solo block. The Cougars claimed the lead at 21-19.
Both teams traded blows and BYU took set one 25-23 on a Benson kill.
Set Two
USC jumped out to an early three-point lead due to three BYU errors. Tufuga recorded a service ace and the Cougars pulled within one, but a 3-0 Trojan run forced BYU to call a timeout trailing 9-5.
Thiim notched four kills out of the next eight serves, but USC maintained control of the set. BYU called its second timeout, trailing 16-11.
Kills by Tyler Herget and Thiim closed the gap to three, but the Cougars were never able to pull closer and he Trojans would take the second set 25-21 for an even 1-1 tie.
Set Three
Herget opened up the third set with a service ace before USC scored five in-a-row to take another early advantage. The Cougars responded with a Hales block and a Thiim kill to tie the score up at nine.
Thiim recorded a solo block and a service ace to give BYU a 13-12 advantage. The Trojans reclaimed the lead at 15-14 with a kill and a block ahead of the media timeout. Out of the break, USC increased its lead to two at 19-17 and forced BYU to use a timeout.
A Thiim service ace tied the game at 22. BYU took the lead on the next play with a Benson kill, but the game was knotted up at 23 due to a Cougar service error. USC scored the next two points on back-to-back kills and won set three 25-23.
Set Four
The Cougars and Trojans opened up the fourth set with back-and-forth scoring. USC reached double-digits first and stretched its lead to four, ahead 13-9. BYU called its first timeout of the set.
A 6-2 BYU run capped off by a Thiim kill and block tied the game up at 17 apiece. Three plays later, BYU claimed the lead on a Thiim service ace and USC called timeout.
Out of the timeout, Thiim tallied his sixth service ace of the night and BYU led 20-18. The Cougars increased their lead to three on a Benson kill and the Trojans used their second timeout.
Tufuga recorded a service ace of his own and USC served the ball out of bounds. The Cougars won set four 25-21.
Set Five
BYU engineered a 5-1 early run with a service ace from Hales and two USC errors. Back-to-back blocks brought USC within two, down 5-7. Each team each scored one more point, switched sides and the Cougars held the advantage at 8-6.
The Trojans scored three-straight before a missed serve knotted the score up at nine. A block by Hales and Thiim as well as a Cole Hauser service ace off the bench forced USC to call timeout as they trailed 9-11.
USC scored two-in-a-row to tie the game at 11. The score was then tied at points 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 before the Trojans recorded a kill and BYU hit the ball out of bounds.
Despite four BYU match points, USC won set five 23-21.
Up Next
BYU will face USC one more time tomorrow night on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 7 p.m. MT, with live coverage on Big10+. Following the match, the BYUtv app and byutv.org will have a rebroadcast of the game at 10 p.m. MT.
