Audio: Coach Nygaard discusses USC postseason upset win vs. Pepperdine

USC lived up to its motto of Fight On.

USC became the first No. 6 seed in seven years to win a MPSF Tournament match as it upset the No. 3 seed Pepperdine 25-22, 19-25, 26-24, 25-18 on Saturday in Malibu, California.

Setter Gert Lisha in the conference tournament quarterfinals victory had 47 assists abd guided the Trojans offense to out-hit the Waves .387 to .267. In addition, USC hit more than .500 in each of the final two games to secure the upset.

All-MPSF outside attacker Jack Wyett finished with a match-high 20 kills, while outside attacker Gianluca Grasso added 19 kills against Pepperdine. USC freshman middle attacker Sam Lewis also contributed six kills and a match-high seven blocks.

Pepperdine outside attacker David Wieczorek, the 2018 MPSF Player of the Year, had 20 kills in the loss.

With this victory, USC will advance to play the MPSF regular season champions and No. 1 seed BYU in the conference tournament semifinals on Thursday.

Check out Off the Block’s postmatch with USC coach Jeff Nygaard following the postseason win.