No. 5 USC Men's Volleyball Opens 2026 Against Spartans

Saturday, January 10

Los Angeles, Calif.

5:00 p.m. PT

USC

St. Thomas Aquinas

USC men's volleyball freshman outside hitter Christian Connell and sophomore setter Caleb Blanchette share a handshake following a point in a match against Vanguard at Galen Center.

Photo by: Kate Tsao

No. 5 USC Men's Volleyball Opens 2026 Against Spartans

January 09, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

#USCMVB Notebook (Jan. 9)2026 USC Schedule

The Trojans will meet St. Thomas Aquinas for the first time

LOS ANGELES – No. 5 USC men's volleyball (0-0) opens the 2026 season on Saturday (Jan. 10) at home against St. Thomas Aquinas (0-0). The Trojans and Spartans meet for the first time with first serve set for 5 p.m. PT at Galen Center.

The Trojans were 11-3 on their home floor last spring and are 7-3 in season openers under 11th-year head coach Jeff Nygaard. USC returns the lion's share of a squad that ranked as high as No. 3 in 2025, finished second in the MPSF standings, and advanced to the conference championship match. Five Trojan returners were recognized by the AVCA's All-America committee including first-team selection OH Dillon Klein and second-team choice MB Parker Tomkinson. S Caleb Blanchette, LIB Johnny Dykstra, and OH Sterling Foley all received All-America honorable mention.

Among notable departures, USC will need to replace points scored by OPP Jack Deuchar and must find someone to step in for the departed MB Guy Genis. OPP Noah Roberts and OH Christian Connell were each notable contributors last season and the Trojans benefit from the return of MB Wesley Smith who sat out the 2025 season due to injury.

MATCH #1 • Saturday, January 10 • 5 p.m. PT
No. 5 USC (0-0) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (0-0)
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: First meeting
TV/STREAM: B1G+ (Andrew Giesler & Alex Buettgen)
OPPONENT WEBSITE: STACAthletics.com

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

USC is led by 11th-year head coach Jeff Nygaard, a three-time Olympian in indoor and beach volleyball and a two-time NCAA champion.
The Trojans are ranked fifth in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll.
USC is 35-21 all-time in season openers; 7-3 under Nygaard.
For the third year in a row, USC will open its season with an opponent it meets for the first time: Fort Valley State (2024), Daemen (2025).
Last year, the Trojans went 11-3 at home and only lost to a No. 2-ranked UC Irvine and twice to 13th-ranked Stanford.
USC returns five players that were recognized by the AVCA All-America committee in 2025 including first-team choice OH Dillon Klein and second-team selection MB Parker Tomkinson. S Caleb Blanchette, OH Sterling Foley, and LIB Johnny Dykstra each received All-America honorable mention.
The Men of Troy will play 16 home matches in 2026 and will play in Southern California for all but two regular-season matches (at BYU, April 10-11).
In 2025, the Trojans the NCAA in blocks (2.86 bps) and led the MPSF in kills (13.11 kps, 5th NCAA), assists (12.24 aps, 3rd NCAA), and digs (8.82 dps). USC was also second in the MPSF in hitting percentage (.344, 4th NCAA).