No. 11 USC Men's Volleyball Meets Rival No. 4 UCLA

LOS ANGELES – The 11th-ranked USC men's volleyball team (10-6, 2-2 MPSF) meets crosstown rival No. 4 UCLA (12-4, 3-1) for two matches this week. The Trojans and Bruins face off at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 29) at Galen Center and meet again at 5 p.m. on Saturday (March 2) at Pauley Pavilion. USC's home match will be shown live on Pac-12 Insider and the match in Westwood will be carried on a UCLA Live Stream.

THIS WEEK
No. 11 USC (10-6, 2-2 MPSF) vs. No. 4 UCLA (12-4, 3-1 MPSF)

MATCH #17 • Thursday, Feb. 29 • 7 p.m. PT
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
LIVE STREAM: Pac-12 Insider (Eli Kleinmann & Jack Smith)

MATCH #18 • Saturday, Mar. 2 • 5 p.m. PT
Pauley Pavilion • Los Angeles, Calif.
LIVE STREAM: UCLA Live Stream

SERIES RECORD: USC trails, 46-104 (.307)
LAST MEETING: L 3-0 (April 8, 2023 • Galen Center)
STREAK: Lost 6 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 2-8
OPPONENT WEBSITE: UCLABruins.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. His next victory will be the 100th in his career.
The Trojans are ranked 11th in the AVCA/NVA Coaches Poll, a season-high position. This year's poll is expanded to include 20 teams for the first time.
USC has reached double-digit blocks in 10 matches and has had more blocks than its opponent in 13 of 16 contests. The Trojans' 2.70 blocks per set ranks second in the MPSF and is third in the nation.
The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in 12 matches. USC's .340 hitting percentage ranks third in the MPSF and is fifth in the NCAA.
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 spring.
Four Trojans rank in the MPSF's top 20 for blocks led by Sr. MB Kyle Paulson who is third in the league (10th, NCAA) for blocks (1.14 bps).
So. OH Dillon Klein is third in the MPSF for hitting percentage (.345) and leads the league in kills per set (3.56 kps). He is second for points at 4.06 points per set.
Klein and fellow So. OH Riley Haine are third and fourth in the MPSF for hitting percentage at .345 and .327 respectively.

FOLLOW THE TROJANS: Home matches at Galen Center are streamed live for free, with links available at USCTrojans.com, except for matches televised by Pac-12 Networks. Follow USC matches on live stats with links at USCTrojans.com.

LAST TIME OUT: USC fell to No. 2-ranked Grand Canyon in back-to-back road matches in Phoenix. The Trojans reached double-digit blocks for the 10th in the last 14 outing and out-blocked (or matched) the opposition for the 14th time in 16 matches. Dillon Klein led the Trojans with 16.5 points in the first meeting and had 13.5 points in the rematch. Riley Haine (11) and Wesley Smith (10) each also reached double-digit kills in the first match.

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. 11 in the Feb. 26 poll.

BIG BLOCK ENERGY: The Trojans' 2.70 blocks per set ranks second in the MPSF and is third in the nation. USC has produced 10 matches in double-digit blocks and set a season-high mark with 15.5 blocks against No. 4 Ohio State on Jan. 20. During a four-match stretch from Jan. 11-19, USC progressively finished with a higher block total; and had 12.5 against Harvard (Jan. 11), 13.0 against Lincoln Memorial (Jan. 13); and then put up 15.0 against Ball State (Jan. 19) before the 15.5 against the Buckeyes. In all, USC has out-blocked its opponent in 13 of 16 matches this spring. In one other match (vs. UC Irvine, Feb. 10) the Trojans had the same block total as the Anteaters (13.0).

HIT 'EM HIGH: USC has hit better than its opponent in 12 of 16 contests. In fact, USC has hit better than .300 in 11 contests and had a season-high .614 hitting percentage in a win over Morehouse College (Jan. 6). The Trojans have also hit .400 or better six times and have recorded two matches over the .500 mark. USC's .340 hitting ranks third in the MPSF and is fifth nationally.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caleb Blanchette

Jack Ebertin

Josh Friedman

Riley Haine

Dillon Klein

Jakobi Lange

Brad Pan

Kyle Paulson

Wesley Smith