No. 13 USC Men’s Volleyball Set For Two With No. 9 Stanford

Men’s Volleyball | February 21, 2023

LOS ANGELES – The 13th-ranked USC men’s volleyball team (6-6, 0-2 MPSF) looks to snap a four-match streak of losses when ninth-ranked Stanford (8-5, 1-1) visits Galen Center for a pair of contests this week (Feb. 24, 26). The Trojans have played in just three home matches this spring with one win over UC Santa Barbara and a pair of four-set losses to No. 5 Grand Canyon last week. Both USC-Stanford matches will be shown live on the Pac-12 Networks.

THIS WEEK

Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.

No. 13 USC (6-6, 0-2 MPSF) vs. No. 9 Stanford (8-5, 1-1 MPSF)

Match #13 • Friday, February 24 • 7 p.m. PT

LIVE TV: Pac-12 Los Angeles (Anne Marie Anderson)

Match #14 • Sunday, February 26 • 4 p.m. PT

LIVE TV: Pac-12 Net/BA/LA (Anne Marie Anderson)

SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 71-35 (.670)

LAST MEETING: W 3-1 (March 26, 2022 • Stanford, Calif.)

STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 8-2

OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoStanford.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

• USC is led by eighth-year head coach Jeff Nygaard, a three-time Olympian in indoor and beach volleyball and a two-time NCAA champion.
• The Trojans are currently ranked 13th in the AVCA Div I-II Coaches Poll. USC has played seven matches against ranked opponents this season (1-6).
• USC has played just three home matches this season. The Trojans are 1-2 with a victory over UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 19).
• Freshman OH Dillon Klein leads the Trojans in kills (3.63 kps) and points (4.14 pps) with 10 matches in double-digit points.
• USC returns All-American OPP Simon Gallas who ranks 15th in the MPSF for points (3.06 pps) with 2.42 kills per set this spring (14th).
• This season, the Trojans added All-American OH Kevin Kobrine; a grad transfer from UCLA. He was an All-MPSF choice in 2022 and follows brother Sam Kobrine who also transferred after four years at UCLA in 2021.
• USC MB Lucas Frassrand returns after an All-America honorable mention campaign as a junior. His 0.75 blocks per set rank 10th in the MPSF.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trojans were defeated by fifth-ranked Grand Canyon in back-to-back four-set results last weekend. USC got double-digit kills from OH Dillon Klein in each of the matches but was only able to take a set off the Lopes in each meeting despite out-blocking GCU both times. OH Kevin Kobrine also…