No. 12 USC Men’s Volleyball Opens MPSF Play with Concordia

Men’s Volleyball | February 13, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The 12th-ranked USC men’s volleyball team (8-4) opens conference play this week with a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match-up on Wednesday night (Feb. 14) at 7 p.m. PT at Concordia (5-1) in the Eagles’ CU Arena. CUI then heads to Galen Center for the teams’ second meeting on Friday (Feb. 16) set for 7 p.m. The Trojans’ home match is Glow Out Galen night and will be shown live on the USC Live Stream platform. The first 500 fans in attendance will receive a free glow-in-the-dark sport bottle and kids under 18 receive free admission.

THIS WEEK

No. 12 USC (8-4, 0-0 MPSF) vs. Concordia (5-1, 0-0 MPSF)

MATCH #13 • Wednesday, Feb. 14 • 7 p.m. PT

CU Arena • Irvine, Calif.

LIVE STREAM: Team1Sports (Jonathan Ilten)

MATCH #14 • Friday, Feb. 16 • 7 p.m. PT

Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.

LIVE STREAM: USC Stream (MJ Newsom & Jack Smith)

SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 14-6 (.700)

LAST MEETING: W 3-0 (April 15, 2023 • Galen Center)

STREAK: Won 6 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 6-4

OPPONENT WEBSITE: CUIGoldenEagles.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.
• 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.
• The Men of Troy are 34-20 all-time in conference openers.
• USC has reached double-digit blocks in eight matches and has had more blocks than its opponent in 10 of 12 contests. The Trojans’ 2.77 blocks per set leads the MPSF and ranks second in the nation.
• The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in 10 matches. USC’s .352 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.
• Sr. MB Kyle Paulson ranks third in the MPSF (eighth, NCAA) for blocks (1.16  bps).
• Jeff Nygaard–a 2020 inductee to the Southern…