No. 13 USC Men's Volleyball Set For First Point Collegiate Challenge

LOS ANGELES – The 13th-ranked USC men's volleyball team (4-0) heads to the Lone Star State for the First Point Collegiate Challenge this week. Hosted by the First Point Foundation, the Trojans join UCLA, Stanford, Ball State, Ohio State, and Penn State for a special six-match event at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. USC takes on 14th-ranked Ball State (6-2) on Friday (Jan. 19) and then meets No. 4 Ohio State (4-0) on Saturday (Jan. 20). First serve for both matches is set for 1:30 p.m. CT (11:30 a.m. PT) and all six matches at the event will be streamed live by FloVolleyball.

THIS WEEK
FIRST POINT COLLEGIATE CHALLENGE
Austin Convention Center • Austin, Texas
TV/STREAM: FloVolleyball

MATCH #5 • Friday, Jan. 19 • 1:30 p.m. CT/11:30 a.m. PT
No. 13 USC (4-0) vs. No. 14 Ball State (6-2)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 8-2 (.800)
LAST MEETING: L 3-1 (March 15, 2003 • Los Angeles, Calif.)
STREAK: Lost 2 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 8-2
OPPONENT WEBSITE: BallStateSports.com

MATCH #6 • Saturday, Jan. 20 • 1:30 p.m. CT/11:30 a.m. PT
No. 13 USC (4-0) vs. No. 4 Ohio State (4-0)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 19-7 (.731)
LAST MEETING: L 3-1 (Feb. 4, 2023 • State College, Pa.)
STREAK: Lost 3 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-6
OPPONENT WEBSITE: OhioStateBuckeyes.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 13th in the AVCA/NVA Coaches Poll. This year's poll is expanded to include 20 teams for the first time.
USC will play its first match in the state of Texas. It previously played a team from Texas (in Santa Barbara) in 1995 and won in two sets.
The Trojans are 4-0 to start a season for the second time under Nygaard. USC went 5-0 to start the 2022 season.
USC freshmen Wes 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 spring.
All-MPSF, All-America honorable mention OH Dillon Klein returns this season.
Jeff Nygaard--a 2020 inductee to the Southern California Indoor Volleyball Hall of Fame--will also be inducted into the USAV Hall of Fame in 2024.

FOLLOW THE TROJANS: All USC home matches at Galen Center are streamed live for free, with links available at USCTrojans.com, except for matches televised live by the Pac-12 Networks. Fans can follow USC home matches through live stats with links at USCTrojans.com.

LAST TIME OUT: USC earned two four-set wins over Harvard and Lincoln Memorial at Galen Center to maintain an unblemished record and moved to 4-0 to open a season for the second time under ninth-year head coach Jeff Nygaard. Nygaard led the Trojans to a 5-0 start in 2022. USC set another attendance record for a home opener with 1,934 fans in attendance for the Harvard match. The Trojans put up double-digit blocks in both matches and out-hit their opponent for the fourth time in four matches. OH Dillon Klein scored 27.0 points with a season-best 24 kills against LMU and S Caleb Blanchette recorded his first-career double-double with a career-high 48 assists and 10 digs against the Railsplitters.

HAPPY HOME PARADISE: USC opened the season with four straight matches at home. The Trojans hosted HBCUs Fort Valley State and Morehouse College and then welcomed Harvard and Lincoln Memorial. In all, USC plays 15 of its 26 regular season matches at Galen Center and hosts both the SIAC Tournament to open the spring and the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge in March. The Trojans' home arena will also serve as host to the 2024 MPSF Tournament, April 17-20.

POLL POSITION: The Trojans were ranked No. 12 in the AVCA/NVA Preseason Coaches Poll. 2024 marks the expansion of the poll to 20 teams (previously 15). USC is currently ranked No. 13 in the Jan. 15 poll.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caleb Blanchette

Jack Ebertin

Josh Friedman

Dillon Klein

Jakobi Lange

Brad Pan

Wesley Smith