USC Men’s Volleyball Meets BYU in MPSF Tournament Quarterfinal

Men’s Volleyball | April 16, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The sixth-seeded USC men’s volleyball team and the Galen Center will host the 2024 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship this week (April 17-20). The Trojans (12-14, 3-9 MPSF) draw third-seeded BYU (16-8, 7-5) in one of three quarterfinal matches set for Wednesday (April 17) at 5:30 p.m. PT. The first quarterfinal pits second-seeded Grand Canyon (22-4, 10-2) and seventh-seeded Concordia (6-18, 0-12) at 3 p.m. The third quarterfinal features fourth-seeded Stanford (13-11, 6-6) and fifth-seeded Pepperdine (17-10, 5-7) at 8 p.m. As the top seed and regular-season MPSF champion, UCLA (22-4, 11-1) receives a bye through the quarterfinal round.

2024 MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP

Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.

WATCH: FloSports (Darren Preston & Hailey Harward)

MATCH #27 • Wednesday, April 17 • 5:30 p.m. PT

[6] No. 13 USC (12-14) vs. [3] No. 6 BYU (16-8)

MPSF Championship Tournament Quarterfinal

SERIES RECORD: USC trails, 26-51 (.338)

LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (April 6, 2024 • Galen Center)

STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 3-7

OPPONENT WEBSITE: BYUCougars.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 2.43 blocks per set is third in the MPSF (seventh, NCAA).
• The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in 13 matches. USC’s .292 hitting percentage ranks fifth in the MPSF and is 18th in the NCAA.
• So. OH Dillon Klein has reached double-digit kills in 20 matches this season and has had 40 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’ 2025 freshman class in November, but completed high school requirements and reclassified to join USC’s 2024 class in time to compete in the…