Men’s Volleyball | April 08, 2024
LOS ANGELES – The 13th-ranked USC men’s volleyball team (12-12, 3-7 MPSF) heads to the Bay Area to close the regular season with a pair of matches against No. 7 Stanford (11-11, 4-6) at Maples Pavilion. Seeding in the upcoming MPSF tournament is on the line when the Trojans and Cardinal meet (April 12-13) as two wins will move USC into the fifth position in the regular-season standings. A loss in either match will keep the Men of Troy in sixth place. Friday’s match will be shown live on Pac-12 Bay Area and Saturday’s contest is set for a live stream on the Stanford live stream platform.
THIS WEEK
No. 13 USC (12-12, 3-7 MPSF) at No. 7 Stanford (11-11, 4-6 MPSF)
Maples Pavilion • Stanford, Calif.
TV: Pac-12 Bay Area (Troy Clardy)
MATCH #26 • Saturday, April 13 • 6 p.m. PT
STREAM: Stanford Live Stream (Kevin Danna & Ben Ross)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 72-37 (.661)
LAST MEETING: L 3-1 (April 19, 2023 • Stanford, Calif.)
STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 7-3
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoStanford.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 13th 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 12 times and has outblocked its opponent 15 times. USC’s 2.50 blocks per set leads the MPSF (sixth in the NCAA).
- The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in 13 matches. USC’s .304 hitting percentage ranks fourth in the MPSF and is 13th in the NCAA.
- So. OH Dillon Klein has reached double-digit kills in 19 matches this season and has had 39 double-digit matches in his career.
- 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’…
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