The USC, UC Irvine and Pepperdine men’s volleyball teams advanced to regional finals in the expanded 12-team NCAA tournament on Friday, moving one step closer to spots in next week’s national semifinals at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.
USC (20-7) swept Conference Carolinas champion Belmont Abbey, 25-18, 25-20, 25-21, in Honolulu and will face second-seeded Big West regular-season champ Hawaii (27-5) on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT.
Dillon Klein had 11 kills, Cooper Keane had 10 kills and seven digs and Sterling Foley added nine kills for the Trojans, who hit .417 in the match while holding Belmont Abbey to a .153 mark. The third set was tied 11 times with five lead changes before USC took charge to complete the sweep.
UC Irvine (19-8) outlasted EIVA champion Penn State in a five-set thriller, 25-18, 27-29, 19-25, 25-17, 15-13, at Pauley Pavilion, and will face top-seeded MPSF champion UCLA (29-1) on Saturday at 5 p.m.
William D’Arcy had 13 kills and a career high-tying five block assists for the Anteaters, who finished with a season-high 13 blocks and out-blocked the nation’s best blocking team 13-7.5. Andrej Jokanovic added 12 kills and a career-high five total blocks (two solo), while middle blockers Micah Goss and Trevor Clark each had 10 kills and five block assists, and setter Cameron Kosty had a career-high five aces to go with 43 assists and six digs.
UCI hit .450 to Penn State’s .120 to win the fourth set and extend the match. The fifth set remained tight throughout, but with the score tied at 13-all, UCI came up with kills from Clark then Goss to secure the victory.
Pepperdine (24-6) made quick work of SIAC champion Fort Valley State, 25-16, 25-18, 25-17, in Noblesville, Ind., and will face fourth-seeded MIVA champion Ball State (25-4) on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT.
Cole Hartke had 13 kills and three aces while hitting .650 for the Waves, who had six aces and outhit Fort Valley .541 to .130. Andrej Polomac finished with 31 assists.
Loyola-Chicago (21-8) swept NEC champion Saint Francis, 30-28, 29-27, 25-20, in Friday’s other regional semifinal and will face third-seeded Big West Tournament champ Long Beach State (24-4) on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Pyramid.