USC Men's Volleyball Opens 16th NCAA Run Against Crusaders

Friday, May 1

Honolulu, Hawai'i

5:00 p.m. HT / 8:00 p.m. PT

USC

Belmont Abbey

Buy Tickets

USC men's volleyball huddles and celebrates midcourt at Galen Center

Photo by: William Fosnot

USC Men's Volleyball Opens 16th NCAA Run Against Crusaders

April 28, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

#USCMVB NCAA Tournament Notebook (April 28)Buy Tickets NCAA Bracket Watch on ESPN+

The Trojans take on Conference Carolinas champion Belmont Abbey on Friday in Honolulu

LOS ANGELES – USC men's volleyball sets its sights on a fifth NCAA championship in the program's 16th selection into the national tournament. The Trojans—owners of six national titles including 1949 and 1950 USVBA championships—last won it all in 1990 and are making their first NCAA tournament run since 2019. USC was awarded of five at-large berths into the newly expanded 12-team NCAA field and will face Conference Carolinas champion Belmont Abbey in the opening round on Friday, May 1, at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. The Trojans and the Crusaders meet at 5 p.m. HT (8 p.m. PT) and will be shown on ESPN+.

2026 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP REGIONAL ROUNDS
Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center • Honolulu, Hawai'i
TV/STREAM: ESPN+ (Jordan Helle)

MATCH #27 • Friday, May 1 • 5 p.m. HT / 8 p.m. PT
No. 5 USC (19-7) vs. No. 20 Belmont Abbey (20-5)

SERIES RECORD: First Meeting
OPPONENT WEBSITE: AbbeyAthletics.com
TOURNAMENT WEBSITE: NCAA.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 Coaches Poll; the program's 519th appearance in the national poll including 222 times in the top five.
USC makes its 16th appearance in the NCAA tournament; first since 2019.
The Trojans own four NCAA championships (1977, '80, '88, '90) and six national titles overall including USVBA crowns won in 1949 and 1950.
USC is 17-11 all-time in NCAA tournament matches.
The Trojans will play their third NCAA match in Honolulu on Friday. USC went 1-1 and was runner-up to Long Beach State for the 1991 championship, which was played at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in downtown Honolulu.
Two Trojans hail from the islands. Outside hitters Riley Haine (Hawai'i Kai) and Kahale Clini (Honolulu) are both graduates of Punahou School.
The daughter of USC head coach Jeff Nygaard is Sophia Nygaard, a 2025 freshman defender on the Hawai'i women's soccer team.
The Trojans lead the MPSF in blocks (2.58 bps), digs (8.40 dps) and opponent hitting percentage (.237). USC is second in kills (12.71 kps) and is third in hitting percentage (.342) and assists (11.85 aps).
Sr. OH Dillon Klein ranks second in the MPSF for kills (3.89 kps, 8th in the NCAA) and points (4.59 pps, 6th NCAA). He has reached double-digit kills in 21 of 23 matches and has had six contests with 20 or more kills.
So. MB Parker Tomkinson leads the MPSF in blocks (1.24 bps; 4th NCAA). Redshirt So. MB Wesley Smith is third (1.07 bps) and 16th in the NCAA.
Two Trojans rank in the top four of the MPSF for digs. So. LIB Johnny Dykstra ranks third with 1.71 dps. Jr. S Caleb Blanchette is fifth with 1.67 dps.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trojans made their second straight appearance in the MPSF championship match but fell to top-seeded UCLA in a narrow four-set decision. USC swept Vanguard in the quarterfinals and then toppled second-seeded Pepperdine in a thrilling five-set semifinal to reach the title bout. OH Sterling Foley racked up new career highs in the big win over the Waves including 19 kills and was named to the all-tournament team alongside MB Parker Tomkinson who logged his first-career double-double with 13 kills and 12 blocks against Pepperdine. USC collected 19.5 blocks in the win for the team's 10th match in double-digit blocks.

POLL POSITION: The Trojans ranked No. 5 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. USC now ranks fifth in the April 27 poll for the Trojans' 519th time in the poll. Last season, USC reached fifth on Feb. 3 to mark their highest position since they were also ranked No. 5 in 2022 (April 18). On March 10, 2025, USC's spot at No. 5 marked the 200th time the Trojans had been ranked in the poll's top five; now 222 times. The Trojans reached the top three (March 24, 2025) for the first time in over 10 years and were previously ranked as high as third on Feb. 16, 2015.

EXTENDED: 11th-year head coach Jeff Nygaard had his contract extended through the 2028 season. He is the longest-tenured coach in program history and has collected 142 wins at USC. He ties Jim McLaughlin (142) for third all-time wins among Trojan coaches. Bob Yoder (211 wins; 1982-89) and Bill Ferguson (150 wins; 2007-15) are USC's all-time leaders in career wins.

NCAA PEDIGREE: USC owns four NCAA titles won in 1977, 1980, 1988, and 1990. The Trojans have also finished as the national runner-up eight times and have taken third twice; fifth once. USC's selection into the 2026 championship field marks the program's 16th appearance in the tournament field and is the Trojans' first since 2019. In tournament matches, USC is 17-11 which includes a 1-1 record in Hawai'i. The Trojans—in defense of their 1990 crown—won one and then fell to Long Beach State in 1991 when the championship was contested in Honolulu at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in downtown.

LOCAL BOYS: Two Trojans hail from the islands. Redshirt Jr. OH Riley Haine is from Hawai'i Kai and Jr. OH Kahale Clini is from Honolulu. Both are graduates of Punahou School.

KICKIN' IT IN MANOA: The eldest daughter of USC head coach Jeff Nygaard is Sophia Nygaard. Sophia was a freshman defender on the Hawai'i women's soccer team in the fall of 2025.

POW-WOW: Seven Trojans won MPSF/Molten Player of the Week honors this spring. OH Dillon Klein was named Offensive Player of the Week for the first USC award of 2026 on Feb. 2 and earned it two more times (Feb. 16, April 6) to total eight weekly awards in his career. MB Parker Tomkinson joined Klein on April 6 in a Trojan sweep to bring home his third-career honor. He repeated for the honor on April 13 to make it four-career awards and nine total wins for USC players this spring. MB Wesley Smith was chosen for his second-career Defensive Player of the Week award on Feb. 9. LIB Brad Pan earned the Defensive Player of the Week award on Feb. 16; the first of his career. He was also chosen for the same honor as a freshman in 2024. On March 23, Johnny Dykstra (defensive) and Sterling Foley (offensive) swept the awards. Among others who have also won previously, S Caleb Blanchette was named for the defensive honor in 2025. USC has swept the weekly awards eight times since March 7, 2022.

READY-SET: The Trojans' 22-set win streak which began on March 12 and remained intact until a loss to Stanford on April 4 is the longest under head coach Jeff Nygaard and set a new school record, which had stood since 1991. USC's sweeps of Menlo (March 27-28) helped the Trojans reach 18 in a row, which eclipsed a run of 16 sets from March 10-31, 2012; the previous set-streak record during the rally-scoring era (since 2001). Including the sideout scoring era, the previous school record was 21 sets in a row in 1991.

1K DK: OH Dillon Klein has reached double-digit kills in 82 of 103 career matches including getting to the 20-kill mark 13 times. He recorded 1,000 career kills on April 17, 2025, in a match at UCLA and now has 1,403 career kills and counting.

UPPER CLASS: OH Dillon Klein ranks second in the MPSF for points per set (4.59 pps, 6th in the NCAA) and kills per set at 3.89 kps (8th in the NCAA). Through the first three matches of the season, he was also the NCAA leader in hitting percentage but is now fifth in the MPSF and is 18th in the nation at .346.

2K GOLD: S Caleb Blanchette crossed the 2,000-assist mark in his career in the Trojans' season opener against St. Thomas Aquinas (Jan. 10). He dished out 28 assists in a 3-0 win over the Spartans and is now up to 2,810-career assists. In 2025, he led the MPSF—ranked fourth in the NCAA—in assists (10.61 aps) and equaled his career-high (61) twice.

BLOCKHEADS: MB Parker Tomkinson and MB Wesley Smith are the top two blockers in the MPSF. Tomkinson's 1.24 blocks per set leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally while Smith's 1.07 blocks per set ranks third (16th, NCAA).

JOHNNY ON THE SPOT: LIB Johnny Dykstra ranks third in the MPSF for digs (1.71 dps). As a freshman in 2025, he produced nine matches in double-digit digs and ranked 18th in the nation for digs, third best among the nation's freshmen. Dykstra logged his first two double-digit digs matches against UCLA this spring. He put up a career-high 19 digs in the first meeting between the crosstown rivals and is up to 13-career matches in double-digit digs.

RECORD HIGH: USC set a single-match hitting record in 2025 with a .691 percentage against Dominican (Feb. 8). This spring, the Trojans have hit .300 or better 20 times with 11times over .350 and nine matches north of .400; five times over .450. USC hit a season-best .559 hitting against Concordia on March 12.