Irvine, Calif. –No. 8 USC toppled No. 1 UC Irvine, 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 27-25) in front of 1,726 fans at the Bren Events Center Friday.

UCI suffers its first loss of the year (4-1, 1-1), while USC wins its first match (1-1, 1-1).  The Anteaters had only dropped two sets all year before losing three straight to the Trojans.

UCI was led by All-American outside hitter Kevin Tillie with nine kills and four block assists followed by opposite Zack La Cavara who had seven kills, an ace and four block assists in two games. Middle blocker Jason Agopian, playing in his first collegiate match, went errorless with five kills on seven attempts. Middle blocker Scott Kevorken and outside hitter Connor Hughes each recorded five kills, while middle blocker Collin Mehring had a career and match-high seven block assists. Libero Michael Brinkley had a team-best seven digs.

USC was led by Robert Feathers with 12 kills and a team-high six block assists. Setter Micah Christenson totaled 39 set assists, seven digs and five block assists. Alex Slaught and Tanner Jansen added eight kills apiece.

UCI led 19-17 in the first set before the Trojans had a kill by Robert Feathers and an ace by Alex Slaught to tie the set at 19-19.  The Anteaters had a kill by Scott Kevorken to go ahead 21-20, but USC would score the final five points of the set, three of them on UCI attack errors, to win the game, 25-21. UCI hit just .167 (13-8-30) to USC's .370 (14-4-27).

In the second set, USC held a 20-16 advantage then continued to lead 22-20 before the Anteaters recorded a block by Jason Agopian and Kevin Tillie and a kill by Agopian to knot the score at 22-22. The teams would trade points until back-to-back kills by Ben Lam and Joey Booth gave USC the 25-23 win.

USC would score six unanswered in the third set to open a 22-15 advantage. The Anteaters would take the next five, the last an ace by Daniel Stork to narrow the margin to 22-20. The Trojans would score the next two, 24-20 before UCI rallied with the next four, the last two on blocks by Zack La Cavera and Colin Mehring to tie the score at 24-24. A pair of kills by Lam would give USC the 27-25 victory and the 3-0 upset. Both teams struggled offensively with USC hitting .161 and UCI a dismal .030.

UCI goes on the road next week traveling to Cal Baptist Wednesday (Jan. 16) and BYU Friday (Jan. 18).

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