No. 7 USC Men's Volleyball Sweeps No. 19 Princeton

Saturday, January 11

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 p.m. PT

USC

2-0,0-0MPSF

Princeton

0-1,0-0EIVA

Princeton

Southern California

Photo by: Drake Lee

No. 7 USC Men's Volleyball Sweeps No. 19 Princeton

January 11, 2025 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

The Trojans collected 11.0 blocks in a 3-0 victory over the Tigers

LOS ANGELES – The seventh-ranked USC men's volleyball team (2-0) swept No. 19 Princeton (0-1) in three sets (25-19, 25-21, 25-22) at Galen Center on Saturday, Jan. 11. The Trojans begin the season 2-0 for the fifth time under head coach Jeff Nygaard and for the third time in the last four seasons.

KEY PLAYERS

Jr. OH Dillon Klein led the Trojans in scoring for the second straight match with 14 kills (2e, 30att) and hit .400 to go with two digs, a solo block, and a service ace for a total of 16.0 points.
So. S Caleb Blanchette dished out 36 assists and led the Trojans to .305 hitting (42k, 13e, 95att). He also added four digs, two blocks, and a had a kill.
Fr. MB Parker Tomkinson led all players with six blocks and reached double-digit kills to finish with 10 (1e, 15att) on a .600 hitting performance with three digs and an assist.
Gr. MB Guy Genis scored seven kills (1e, 12att) with .500 hitting and had two digs and a block.
Redshirt So. OPP Noah Roberts recorded nine points with five kills and five blocks (one solo) and added five digs.
Fr. OH Sterling Foley had five kills, seven digs, and four blocks (one solo).
Sr. LIB Austin Stuard led the team's floor defense with nine digs.
For the Tigers, Nyherowo Omene led the offense with 15 kills (5e, 31att, .323) and totaled eight digs. Roan Alviar had nine digs and put up five assists. Mason Rice scored six kills and Henry Wedbush put up 21 assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

USC out-hit Princeton, .305 to .125, and had more kills (42-32), assists (39-30), and blocks (11.0-3.5). The Trojans reached double-digit blocks for the second straight contest.
The Trojans went Hop on Pop to take a 25-19 win in the opening frame behind .423 hitting. USC collected 14 kills on 26 attacks and had only three errors. Genis led the way with four kills while Klein, Roberts, and Tomkinson each registered three kills apiece. At the net, USC put up three blocks with Tomkinson in on two of them to help hold the Tigers to a .148 hitting percentage (11k, 7e, 27att).
Klein collected six more kills in the second set to help lift the Trojans to a 25-21 win and a 2-0 lead in the match. USC hit .276 in the frame to outpace the Tigers' .065 hitting. Omene scored four of the nine Princeton kills in the set and had four of nine of the Tigers' digs.
The score was tied 11 times in the third and the Tigers led by as many as three points twice before USC turned the tables to force the 11th tie at 22-all and then finished off the match with the team's 11th block for the 25-22 win. Tomkinson was unstoppable in the third and finished with six kills on six swings to go with one block. Klein added five more kills and the Trojans put up three of blocks in the third to sew up the victory.

UP NEXT

USC hosts D'Youville (0-0) and Emmanuel (0-0) at the Galen Center. The Trojans take on the Saints on Friday (Jan. 17) and then host the Lions on Saturday (Jan. 18). Both matches are set for 7 p.m. PT starts and will be shown live on Big Ten Plus.

MATCH NOTES

The Trojans improved to 5-0 all-time against Princeton with wins over the Tigers in 2018, '19, '20, '22, and '25.
USC posted back-to-back matches with double-digit blocks for the first time since April 5-6, 2024 (BYU).
The Men of Troy are 2-0 under head coach Jeff Nygaard for the fifth time and for the third time in the last four seasons. Previously, USC was 2-0 in 2018, '19, '22, and '24.

For more information on the USC men's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/MVB. Fans of the Trojans can follow @USCMensVolley on Facebook, X, and Instagram.