University Southern California Trojans
Seven-Team USC Men's Volleyball Fall Tournament This Saturday
October 21, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
The USC men's volleyball squad, under new head coach Jeff Nygaard, will host the seven-team pre-season 2015 USC Fall Tournament this Saturday (Oct. 24) in the Galen Center and Galen Center Pavilion.
The Trojans will be joined by Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponents UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Northridge and Cal Baptist, plus non-conference foes Grand Canyon and Concordia. Admission is free. The Galen Center Pavilion is adjacent to the Galen Center, with the volleyball courts on the upstairs level.
Competition begins at 8 a.m. with USC hosting Concordia on Pavilion Court 1 and Cal State Northridge meeting UCLA on Pavilion Court 2. At 9:15 a.m., Cal Baptist faces Concordia on Pavilion Court 1 and UC Santa Barbara hosts Grand Canyon on Pavilion Court 2. Then at 10:30 a.m., it's UC Santa Barbara against Cal Baptist on Pavilion Court 1, Cal State Northridge versus Grand Canyon on Pavilion Court 2 and USC meets crosstown rival UCLA in the Galen Center. The 12:45 p.m. matches are UCLA playing Cal Baptist on Pavilion Court 1, Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara on Pavilion Court 2 and Grand Canyon versus Concordia in the Galen Center. At 2 p.m., Grand Canyon takes on Cal Baptist on Pavilion Court 1 while UC Santa Barbara meets USC in the Galen Center. The tourney concludes at 3:15 p.m. with Concordia against UCLA on Pavilion Court 1 and USC hosting Cal State Northridge in the Galen Center.
All matches will be the best of 3 sets, with the first 2 sets played to 25 points and the third set to 15 points. For matches that are decided in 2 sets, teams have the option of playing a non-counting third set.
USC is coming off a 19-9 season in which it advanced to the MPSF Tournament semifinals. The Trojans are led by 2-year starting middle blocker Andy Benesh, who spent the summer competing with the U.S. Men's Junior National Team. Others returning with key experience include outside hitters Alex Slaught and Christopher Orenic and libero Brooks Varni.
After the USC Fall Tournament, the Trojans continue their pre-season competition by scrimmaging Hawaii on Nov. 5 and then playing at the UCLA SAC Tournament on Nov. 20 and 21. Troy begins its 2016 regular season at the non-conference Penn State Tournament, meeting the host Nittany Lions on Jan. 7 and Ohio State on Jan. 8 before opening MPSF play at Cal State Northridge on Jan. 15.
