No. 11 USC Men’s Volleyball Takes on Waves to Close March

Men’s Volleyball | March 27, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The 11th-ranked USC men’s volleyball team (11-10, 2-5 MPSF) meets No. 8 Pepperdine (16-7, 4-5) at Galen Center on Saturday (March 30) to close out the month of March. The Trojans and the Waves meet to sew up a home-and-home that spanned two weeks at 7 p.m. PT and will be shown live on the USC Live Stream platform.
 
The Men of Troy are currently sixth in the MPSF standings with five regular-season matches remaining on the schedule. With the Waves just two spots ahead, USC can make waves itself with an end-of-season win streak. Galen Center will also serve as host of the MPSF Tournament in several weeks (April 17-20).
 
THIS WEEK
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
No. 11 USC (11-10, 2-5 MPSF) vs. No. 8 Pepperdine (16-7, 4-5 MPSF)

Match #22 • Saturday, March 30 • 7 p.m. PT

SERIES RECORD: USC trails, 44-76 (.367)

LAST MEETING: L 3-1 (March 14, 2024 • Malibu, Calif.)

STREAK: Lost 4 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 1-9

LIVE STREAM: USC Live Stream (Max Kelton)

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’ 2.49 blocks per set ranks second in the MPSF and is seventh in the nation.
• The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in 12 matches. USC’s .312 hitting percentage ranks fourth in the MPSF and is 10th in the NCAA.
• So. OH Dillon Klein has reached double-digit kills in 16 matches this season and has had 36 double-digit matches in his career. He has also registered five matches with 20 or more kills.
• 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…