No. 11 USC Men’s Volleyball Resumes MPSF Slate at No. 9 Pepperdine

Men’s Volleyball | March 11, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The 11th-ranked USC men’s volleyball team (11-9, 2-4 MPSF) resumes MPSF play with a visit to Malibu this week to take on ninth-ranked Pepperdine (14-5, 2-3). The Trojans and the Waves meet for a 6 p.m. PT matchup on Thursday (March 14) at Firestone Fieldhouse and will be shown live on ESPN+. USC is currently tied for fourth in the MPSF standings with Stanford and BYU; both teams it will still face before the end of the regular season. Directly ahead of the Trojans is Pepperdine by a half match with a 2-3 mark in league contests. USC will get a second match with the Waves on March 30 at Galen Center. The matches are two weeks apart due to the schools’ respective academic spring breaks.

MATCH #21 • Thursday, March 14 • 6 p.m. PT

No. 11 USC (11-9, 2-4 MPSF) at No. 9 Pepperdine (14-5, 2-3 MPSF)

Firestone Fieldhouse • Malibu, Calif.

SERIES RECORD: USC trails, 44-75 (.370)

LAST MEETING: L 3-1 (March 11, 2023 • Galen Center)

STREAK: Lost 3 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 1-9

LIVE STREAM: ESPN+

OPPONENT WEBSITE: PepperdineWaves.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

• USC is led by ninth-year head coach Jeff Nygaard, a three-time Olympian in indoor and beach volleyball and a two-time NCAA champion. On March 6, in a win over Penn State, he recorded his 100th-career win.
• The Trojans are ranked 11th in the AVCA/NVA Coaches Poll. This year’s poll is expanded to include 20 teams for the first time.
• USC has reached double-digit blocks in 10 matches and has had more blocks than its opponent in 13 contests. The Trojans’ 2.50 blocks per set ranks third in the MPSF and is sixth in the nation.
• The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in 12 matches. USC’s .310 hitting percentage ranks fourth in the MPSF and is 12th in the NCAA.
• So. OH Dillon Klein has reached double-digit kills in 15 matches this season and has had 35 double-digit matches in his career. He has also registered five matches with 20 or more kills.
• Klein and Fr. MB Wesley Smith were each named to the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge All-Tournament Team over the weekend.
• Freshmen Wesley Smith (MB), Jakobi Lange (OH), Jack Ebertin (OH), Brad…