USC Men’s Volleyball Takes on Stanford in MPSF Quarterfinal Bout

Men’s Volleyball | April 17, 2023

LOS ANGELES – The 12th-ranked USC men’s volleyball team (10-15, 3-9 MPSF) enters this week’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament as the six seed and will face third-seeded host Stanford (13-12, 6-6) in a quarterfinal match on Wednesday (April 19) at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, Calif. The Trojans and the eighth-ranked Cardinal split regular-season matches at Galen Center this spring. First serve is set for 5:30 p.m. PT with FloVolleyball on hand to live stream all the action. The Trojans are 15-18 all-time in MPSF tournament matches and were winners of the 2009 conference title. Last year, at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, the Trojans defeated Concordia in the opening round but fell to Pepperdine in one of the semifinals. The Trojans earned a pair of wins over CUI to grab the sixth seed this week. The victories ended an eight-match streak of losses.

THIS WEEK

2023 MPSF TOURNAMENT

Maples Pavilion • Stanford, Calif.

[6] No. 12 USC (10-15, 3-9 MPSF) at [3] No. 8 Stanford (13-12, 6-6 MPSF)

MATCH #26 • Wednesday, April 19 • 5:30 p.m. PT

MPSF Tournament Quarterfinal

TV/STREAM: FloVolleyball

SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 72-36 (.667)

LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (Feb. 26, 2023 • Galen Center)

STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 7-3

OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoStanford.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

• USC is led by eighth-year head coach Jeff Nygaard, a three-time Olympian in indoor and beach volleyball and a two-time NCAA champion.
• The Trojans are currently ranked 12th in the AVCA Div I-II Coaches Poll. USC has played 17 matches against ranked opponents this season.
• USC is the No. 6 seed in the MPSF tournament and is 15-18 all-time in tournament matches dating to 1993. The Trojans won the 2009 MPSF title.
• Freshman OH Dillon Klein leads the Trojans in kills (3.62 kps) and points (4.17 pps) with 21 matches in double-digit points. He was honored as the MPSF Offensive Player of the Week on April 17, the first of his career.
• All-American OPP Simon Gallas ranks 12th in the MPSF for points (3.31 pps) and is 12th with 2.70 kills per set this spring.
• All-American OH Kevin Kobrine–a grad transfer…