No. 12 USC Men's Volleyball Hosts Harvard and Lincoln Memorial

LOS ANGELES – The 12th-ranked USC men's volleyball team (2-0) hosts Harvard (0-0) and Lincoln Memorial (0-0) in a pair of home matches at Galen Center this week. The Trojans take on the Crimson on Thursday (Jan. 11) at 7 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Networks and then meet the Railsplitters on Saturday (Jan. 13) at 7 p.m. The USC-LMU match will be shown live on a USC stream.

THIS WEEK
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.

MATCH #3 • Thursday, January 11 • 7 p.m. PT
No. 12 USC (2-0) vs. Harvard (0-0)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 4-0 (1.000)
LAST MEETING: W 3-1 (March 11, 2018 • Galen Center)
STREAK: Won 4 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-0
TV: Pac-12 Network/Los Angeles (Anne Marie Anderson)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoCrimson.com

MATCH #4 • Saturday, January 13 • 7 p.m. PT
No. 12 USC (2-0) vs. Lincoln Memorial (0-0)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 1-0 (1.000)
LAST MEETING: W 3-0 (Jan. 18, 2019 • Lebanon, Tenn.)
STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 1-0
TV/STREAM: USC Live Stream (Jack Smith)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: LMURailSplitters.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 12th in the AVCA/NVA Coaches Poll. This year's poll is expanded to include 20 teams for the first time.
USC was picked to finish fifth by the MPSF coaches in a preseason poll. Last year, the Trojans were sixth with a 3-9 league record.
The Trojans opened the season with a pair of 3-0 wins over Fort Valley State and Morehouse College and improved to 34-21 in all-time season openers; 6-3 in nine such matches under Nygaard.
USC's incoming class of freshmen Wes Smith (MB), Jakobi Lange (OH), Jack Ebertin (OH), Brad Pan (LIB), and junior transfer Josh Friedman (S) was 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.
The Trojans return All-MPSF and All-America honorable mention OH Dillon Klein to the lineup this season.

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

LAST TIME OUT: The Trojans swept both Fort Valley State and Morehouse College on back-to-back days in the SIAC Tournament played at the Galen Center Pavilion. OPP Jack Deuchar led the Trojans with 4.08 points per set and racked up a career-best 11 kills against the Wildcats and a career-high five aces against the Maroon Tigers. Caleb Blanchette also served five aces against Morehouse in his first collegiate start and finished with 23 assists in the win. LIB Austin Stuard put up 10 digs against FVSU for his first-career match in double-digits. The wins pushed the Trojans to 34-21 all-time in season openers and to 6-3 in such matches under ninth-year head coach Jeff Nygaard.

HAPPY HOME PARADISE: USC will play at Galen Center four straight times to open the spring season. After hosting HBCUs Fort Valley State and Morehouse College, the Trojans take on Harvard (Feb. 11) on Pac-12 Networks and Lincoln Memorial (Feb. 13). In all, USC will play 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 stayed its spot in the first regular-season poll on Jan. 8 and are still No. 12.

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Players Mentioned

Caleb Blanchette

Jack Deuchar

Jack Ebertin

Josh Friedman

Dillon Klein

Jakobi Lange

Brad Pan

Wesley Smith

Austin Stuard