STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — UC Santa Barbara upset top-ranked Southern California again, beating the powerhouse Trojans in four sets Thursday night to advance to the men’s NCAA volleyball tournament finals.
The upstart Gauchos upended USC last week in their conference final to clinch one of the four spots into the championships. In the semifinal held at Penn State, UCSB beat the Trojans 29-27, 24-26, 25-15 and 25-18.
Cullen Irons’ kill clinched the match for UCSB (18-14), which moves on to face the winner of Thursday night’s late match between Penn State and Ohio State.
Irons and Dylan Davis each had 15 kills to lead UCSB.
Tri Bourne had 20 kills for the preseason favorite Trojans (23-4), hampered by 20 service errors to just two aces.
