This is USC's game day post they put on their Instagram. Follow them for more: @uscmensvolley
This is UCLA's game day post they put on their Instagram. Follow them for more: @uclamvb
Dear Readers~
Saturday, April 6, 2019 was a big day. That was USC's last home game of the regular season. During that game the #6 USC Trojans took on none other than their cross town rivals, #5 UCLA Bruins, in a game of men's indoor volleyball at the Galen Center there at USC. Going into the game, USC is sitting at 15-9 while UCLA is sitting at 18-7 for their 2019 seasons. Now it's time to get into the game.
The first set ended at 25-19, in favor of UCLA. The second set ended at 25-15 in favor of USC. The third set ended at 25-14 in favor of UCLA. Going into the fourth set USC knew that they had to win this set and the next one. So that's just what they set out to do. The fourth set ended at 25-20, and the only set the entire game where both teams reached 20 or more points. With each team winning 2 sets, a fifth set happened. That fifth set ended at 15-11 with UCLA falling short and USC coming out victorious by winning 3 sets to 2. By winning this game against UCLA, USC ends their regular season with an 11-0 perfect record at home and a 16-9 overall record for 2019 while UCLA has 18-8 for their overall 2019 record.
Now it's time for the players that helped make these results what they were. Up first is kills. The leader in that area was UCLA's Daenan Gyimah, with 21, while Ryan Moss led USC with 16 kills of his own. Aces was a category with a tie because 3 people each got 3 aces each during the 5 set game. They are Grant Maleski and Micah Ma'a, for UCLA, along with Chris Hall, for USC. The leader in blocks was Sam Lewis, of USC, with 4 blocks, while Micah Ma'a led UCLA with 3 blocks of his own, even though Micah is a setter not a blocker like Sam is. The leader for assists goes to UCLA's Adam Parks, with a total of 50 assists while Chris Hall led USC with 39 assists of his own. The last category is digs. The leader in that category was USC's Matt Douglas, with 12, while Micah Ma'a led UCLA with 7 digs of his own.
This is #24 for USC, Ryan Moss, Celebrating after the big win and an 11-0 at home during the 2019 season. Follow him on Instagram for more: @ryanmoss10
This game was very special because not only was it the last regular season game of 2019 for the two teams but also because it was senior night for USC. Their seniors include #9 Gianluca Grasso, #24 Ryan Moss, #20 Jack Wyett, #5 Matt Douglas, and #16 Tyler Resnick. The seniors for UCLA who played their final regular season game were #6 Jonah Kay, #12 Dylan Missry, #13 Micah Ma'a, and #21 Spencer Sachs. USC doesn't have a group pic of their seniors on their Instagram but UCLA does so now let's meet the seniors of the two teams:
This is #24 Ryan Moss
This is #20 Jack Wyett
This is #16 Tyler Resnick
This is #5 Matt Douglas
This is #9 Gianluca Grasso
These are UCLA's seniors. Right to left: Micah Ma'a, Spencer Sachs, Dylan Missry, and Jonah Kay
As many of you know, lots of people on the AVP went to USC or UCLA. Two people that went to USC were Riley and Maddison Mckibbin, they also played indoor there just like their little brother, Jameson, does now. Jameson actually got 2 aces, the second highest for USC, during this game against UCLA. If you'd like to watch Jameson play beach volleyball with his brothers, Riley and Maddison, the three did a video at the 2018 SmackFest event in Hermosa Beach, California that I'll be linking below. The title of the video is called "SmackFest 2018 Beach Volley Highlights and Bloopers" if you'd like to check it out. It's actually my favorite video done by the brothers so I suggest giving it a view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OgPKEBha2A Jameson comes in at around the 1:05 mark.
This is Jameson Mckibbin playing in the 2018 SmackFest event
Someone who played indoor for UCLA was actually Jeremy Casebeer, who played with Olympic Gold medalists Eric Fonoimoana against Maddison and Riley at the 2018 AVP Hermosa Beach Open on stadium court. That video is titled "Mckibbin/Mckibbin vs. Fonoimoana/Casebeer AVP Hermosa Beach 2018" That video is linked here if you'd like to watch it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii42zwxKzr4
This was the game where Riley and Maddison McKibbin took on Jeremy Casebeer and Eric Fonoimoana at the 2018 AVP Hermosa Beach Open
That concludes the game between USC and UCLA to close out the 2019 regular season of Men's volleyball between the two schools. Don't forget the national championships will be held at Long Beach State in Long Beach, California from May 2-4, 2019 for men's indoor or if you live on the east coast, the national championships for NCAA women's beach will be held from May 3-5, 2019 in Gulf Shores, Alabama. If you'd rather watch pro volleyball the AVP has their first stop in Huntington Beach, California from May 3-5, 2019 as well. Stay tuned for my next blog and until next time, Miller out
~J. Miller
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