LOS ANGELES – Moses Wagner and Alex Rottman combined for 25 kills, but No. 14 Stanford fell at No. 4 USC, 21-25, 25-23, 16-25, 17-25, Saturday, at the Galen Center.
USC (16-3, 8-2 MPSF) hit .354 as a team, while holding Stanford (9-12, 6-4 MPSF) to a .236 clip. The Trojans held a 32-21 advantage in digs and an 5-2 edge in aces.
Wagner registered a team-high 14 kills for a second consecutive night. The opposite also tallied three digs, three blocks and an ace. Rottman finished with 11 kills, three blocks, three assists and a dig.
The Trojans’ 25-21 in the opening frame set a new program record for consecutive sets won with 22. The Cardinal snapped that streak, winning the second, 25-23. Stanford went on a 10-2 run early in the set and withstood a valiant USC comeback.
Senior Theoren Brouillette earned the start at setter, controlling the offense with 35 assists to go with four digs, two blocks, an ace and a kill. Sophomore libero Evan Porter notched three digs.
Outside hitter Nate Clinton hit a season-high .500 with eight kills on 16 errorless swings. The junior also recorded a season-best seven digs, an assist, and a block.
Middle blocker Luke McFall had five kills on .444 hitting and a team-high five blocks. Sophomore Kaumana Carreira totaled two kills, two digs and a solo block. Sophomore Reed Wainwright replaced Carreira late in the third and added a kill and a dig.
USC senior outside hitter Dillon Klein led the trojans with a match-high 20 kills on .667 hitting, nine digs, two aces and four blocks.
Stanford remains on the road next week, traveling to No. 6 Pepperdine on Friday and Saturday.