University Southern California Trojans
USC
Princeton
No. 12 USC Men's Volleyball Opens 2020 Season With Non-League Home Match Versus No. 10 Princeton
January 02, 2020 | Men's Volleyball, Features
THE FACTS
*The No. 12-ranked USC men's volleyball team (0-0 overall, 0-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), coming off its winningest season since 2015, opens 2020 play by hosting No. 10 Princeton (0-1 overall, 0-0 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association) on Thursday (Jan. 2) at 7 p.m. in the Galen Center. Both teams were 2019 NCAA Tournament participants.
FOLLOW THE TROJANS
*All of USC's home matches are video- and audio-streamed live for free on USCTrojans.com and the TuneIn Radio app, except for matches televised live on Pac-12 Network (those matches only are audio-streamed). USC's online announcers are ex-Trojan player and assistant coach Mark Beltran and onetime Northeastern player/Winthrop assistant coach Paul Duchesne. Fans also can follow USC home matches through Live State at USCTrojans.com and all matches via Twitter (@USCmensvolley).
RANKINGS
*USC is ranked No. 12 in the current AVCA Division I-II Top 15 poll. Princeton is ranked No. 10.
OPPONENTS
*USC is 2-0 all-time against Princeton, including a 3-0 win last year at home.
2020 OUTLOOK
*Can the 2020 USC men's volleyball team build on the momentum of 2019, when the Trojans advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012 and had their most wins since 2015? Fifth-year head coach Jeff Nygaard and his young Trojans (1 senior and 15 underclassmen on the 22-man roster) believe they can. And will.
*Fourteen squad members, including 3 starters and 9 who saw action last year, return from the 2019 roster. Top returning players are a trio of juniors: middle blocker-opposite hitter Kyle Gear, who led USC in hitting percentage last spring (.421), 2-year starting setter Chris Hall, an All-MPSF honorable mention choice in 2019 who made the MPSF All-Tournament team, and 6-10 middle blocker Sam Lewis, another 2-year starter whose 70 blocks in 2019 was a team high. They are joined by 8 talented first-year freshmen.
*This group, using the term "Brotherhood" as its mantra, will look to continue the high standards of the USC men's volleyball program that has won 6 national championships, played in 15 NCAA tourneys and produced 20 Olympians, 34 All-American first teamers and 7 College Players of the Year.
LAST YEAR
*The 2019 Trojans more than doubled their win total from 2018 by going 18-11 overall (their most wins since 2015) and finishing third in the MPSF at 7-5 (their highest league finish since 2012). Troy was the MPSF Tournament runnerup and, for the first time since 2012, qualified for the NCAAs.
*USC, playing the nation's toughest schedule, had 7 wins over teams ranked in the AVCA Top 10 at the time and won 11 of its last 15 matches. Its in-season No. 4 AVCA ranking was the program's highest since 2015 and its final No. 5 ranking was its best finish since 2012. Troy was undefeated at home (12-0) for the first time since 2000 and was 5-2 on neutral courts. The team's .320 hitting percentage was its highest since 2011.
*USC snapped eventual NCAA champ Long Beach State's 23-match winning streak, Troy's first win over a No. 1 team since 2013 (USC was 1 of just 2 teams to beat LBSU in 2019). The Trojans' 3-0 win over BYU was its first sweep over the Cougars since 1991 and the back-to-back wins over UCLA were the first consecutive victories over the Bruins since 2011.
*Jack Wyett and Ryan Moss made All-MPSF first team and Wyett was All-American second team.
