No. 12 USC Men’s Volleyball Hosts Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge

Men’s Volleyball | March 05, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The 12th-ranked USC men’s volleyball team (10-8, 2-4 MPSF) steps away from league play this week to host the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge at the Galen Center Pavilion. The Trojans welcome ninth-ranked Penn State (12-4) for a midweek match-up on Wednesday (March 6) at 7 p.m. and then host No. 8 Ohio State (14-4) on Friday evening (March 8) for another 7 p.m. start. On Friday, UCLA and Penn State will play at 4 p.m. ahead of the USC match. All three matches will be shown live on the USC live stream platform.

THIS WEEK

Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge

Galen Center Pavilion • Los Angeles, Calif.

WATCH LIVE: USC Live Stream (Max Kelton & Paul Duchesne)

MATCH #19 • Wednesday, March 6 • 7 p.m. PT

No. 12 USC (10-8) vs. No. 9 Penn State (12-4)

SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 20-12 (.625)

LAST MEETING: L 3-1 (Feb. 3, 2023 • University Park, Pa.)

STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-6

OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoPSUSports.com

MATCH #20 • Friday, March 8 • 7 p.m. PT

No. 12 USC (10-8) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (14-4)

SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 19-8 (.704)

LAST MEETING: L 3-2 (Jan. 19, 2024 • Austin, Texas)

STREAK: Lost 4 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 3-7

OPPONENT WEBSITE: OhioStateBuckeyes.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 12th 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’ 2.64 blocks per set ranks second in the MPSF and is fifth in the nation.
• The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in 12 matches. USC’s .320 hitting percentage ranks third in the MPSF and is ninth 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…