No. 12 USC Men's Volleyball Hosts Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge

LOS ANGELES – The 12th-ranked USC men's volleyball team (10-8, 2-4 MPSF) steps away from league play this week to host the Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge at the Galen Center Pavilion. The Trojans welcome ninth-ranked Penn State (12-4) for a midweek match-up on Wednesday (March 6) at 7 p.m. and then host No. 8 Ohio State (14-4) on Friday evening (March 8) for another 7 p.m. start. On Friday, UCLA and Penn State will play at 4 p.m. ahead of the USC match. All three matches will be shown live on the USC live stream platform.

THIS WEEK
Pac-12/Big Ten Challenge
Galen Center Pavilion • Los Angeles, Calif.
WATCH LIVE: USC Live Stream (Max Kelton & Paul Duchesne)

MATCH #19 • Wednesday, March 6 • 7 p.m. PT
No. 12 USC (10-8) vs. No. 9 Penn State (12-4)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 20-12 (.625)
LAST MEETING: L 3-1 (Feb. 3, 2023 • University Park, Pa.)
STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 4-6
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoPSUSports.com

MATCH #20 • Friday, March 8 • 7 p.m. PT
No. 12 USC (10-8) vs. No. 8 Ohio State (14-4)
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 19-8 (.704)
LAST MEETING: L 3-2 (Jan. 19, 2024 • Austin, Texas)
STREAK: Lost 4 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 3-7
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. His next victory will be the 100th in his career.
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 has reached double-digit blocks in 10 matches and has had more blocks than its opponent in 13 contests. The Trojans' 2.64 blocks per set ranks second in the MPSF and is fifth in the nation.
The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in 12 matches. USC's .320 hitting percentage ranks third in the MPSF and is ninth 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 (seventh, NCAA) for blocks (1.15 bps).

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 fourth-ranked crosstown rival UCLA in a pair of matches; 3-0 at home and 3-1 at Pauley Pavilion. The Trojans were out-hit and out-blocked—a rarity this season—in both matches but were far more competitive with the Bruins in the second meeting, which included a 26-24 first set win by UCLA before the team's split. Jack Deuchar led the Trojans with eight kills in the first meeting. Riley Haine had 11 kills to lead the offense in the rematch while Kyle Paulson put up seven blocks with a career-high four solo blocks.

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 hosted 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. 12 again in the March 4 poll.

BIG BLOCK ENERGY: The Trojans' 2.64 blocks per set ranks second in the MPSF and is fifth 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 18 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 18 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 .320 hitting ranks third in the MPSF and is ninth nationally.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caleb Blanchette

Jack Deuchar

Jack Ebertin

Josh Friedman

Riley Haine

Jakobi Lange

Brad Pan

Kyle Paulson

Wesley Smith