No. 11 USC Men’s Volleyball Meets Rival No. 4 UCLA

Men’s Volleyball | February 26, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The 11th-ranked USC men’s volleyball team (10-6, 2-2 MPSF) meets crosstown rival No. 4 UCLA (12-4, 3-1) for two matches this week. The Trojans and Bruins face off at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 29) at Galen Center and meet again at 5 p.m. on Saturday (March 2) at Pauley Pavilion. USC’s home match will be shown live on Pac-12 Insider and the match in Westwood will be carried on a UCLA Live Stream.

THIS WEEK

No. 11 USC (10-6, 2-2 MPSF) vs. No. 4 UCLA (12-4, 3-1 MPSF)

MATCH #17 • Thursday, Feb. 29 • 7 p.m. PT

Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.

LIVE STREAM: Pac-12 Insider (Eli Kleinmann & Jack Smith)

MATCH #18 • Saturday, Mar. 2 • 5 p.m. PT

Pauley Pavilion • Los Angeles, Calif.

LIVE STREAM: UCLA Live Stream

SERIES RECORD: USC trails, 46-104 (.307)

LAST MEETING: L 3-0 (April 8, 2023 • Galen Center)

STREAK: Lost 6 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 2-8

OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCLABruins.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. His next victory will be the 100th in his career.
• The Trojans are ranked 11th in the AVCA/NVA Coaches Poll, a season-high position. 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 of 16 contests. The Trojans’ 2.70 blocks per set ranks second in the MPSF and is third in the nation.
• The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in 12 matches. USC’s .340 hitting percentage ranks third in the MPSF and is fifth in the NCAA.
• Freshmen Wesley Smith (MB), Jakobi Lange (OH), Jack Ebertin (OH), Brad Pan (LIB), and transfer Josh Friedman (S) were rated the No. 1 recruiting class by VolleyballMag.com. Smith was the No. 1-ranked individual player.
• Fr. S Caleb Blanchette signed to be a part of the Trojans’ 2025 freshman class in November, but completed high school requirements and reclassified to join USC’s 2024 class in time to compete in the spring.
• Four Trojans rank in the MPSF’s top 20 for blocks led by Sr. MB Kyle Paulson who is third in…