No. 15 USC Men’s Volleyball Set For Two With No. 7 UC Irvine

Men’s Volleyball | February 06, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The 15th-ranked USC men’s volleyball team (7-3) will play its final two non-conference matches before the start of MPSF play when the Trojans take on seventh-ranked UC Irvine (5-3) in a home-and-home series this week. USC visits Bren Events Center on Wednesday (Feb. 7) for a midweek clash and then welcomes the Anteaters to Galen Center on Saturday (Feb. 10) for the rematch. Both matches are set for 7 p.m. PT starts. On the road, USC-UCI will be shown live on an ESPN+ stream; and the Trojans’ home contest will be shown on the USC Live Stream platform with links available at USCTrojans.com.
 
FOLLOW THE TROJANS: Home matches at Galen Center are streamed live for free, with links available at USCTrojans.com, except for matches televised by Pac-12 Networks. Follow USC matches on live stats with links at USCTrojans.com.

THIS WEEK

No. 15 USC (7-3, 0-0 MPSF) vs. No. 7 UC Irvine (5-3, 0-0 Big West)

MATCH #11 • Wednesday, Feb. 7 • 7 p.m. PT

Bren Events Center • Irvine, Calif.

LIVE STREAM: ESPN+ (Robert Espero & Charlie Brande)

MATCH #12 • Saturday, Feb. 10 • 7 p.m. PT

Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.

LIVE STREAM: USC Stream (Jack Smith)

SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 42-35 (.545)

LAST MEETING: L 3-2 (Jan. 18, 2023 • Irvine, Calif.)

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

OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCIrvineSports.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 15th 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 six matches this season and has had more blocks than its opponent in nine of 10 contests.
• The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in eight matches. USC’s .355 hitting percentage ranks third in the MPSF and sixth in the NCAA.
• Each of USC’s three losses this season have been in five-set matches.
• Freshmen Wesley Smith (MB), Jakobi Lange (OH), Jack Ebertin (OH), Brad Pan (LIB), and transfer Josh Friedman (S) were rated the No. 1 recruiting…