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USC Men's Volleyball Meets BYU in MPSF Tournament Quarterfinal

by usctrojans.com
Apr 16, 2024

LOS ANGELES – The sixth-seeded USC men's volleyball team and the Galen Center will host the 2024 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship this week (April 17-20). The Trojans (12-14, 3-9 MPSF) draw third-seeded BYU (16-8, 7-5) in one of three quarterfinal matches set for Wednesday (April 17) at 5:30 p.m. PT. The first quarterfinal pits second-seeded Grand Canyon (22-4, 10-2) and seventh-seeded Concordia (6-18, 0-12) at 3 p.m. The third quarterfinal features fourth-seeded Stanford (13-11, 6-6) and fifth-seeded Pepperdine (17-10, 5-7) at 8 p.m. As the top seed and regular-season MPSF champion, UCLA (22-4, 11-1) receives a bye through the quarterfinal round.

2024 MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP
Galen Center • Los Angeles, Calif.
WATCH: FloSports (Darren Preston & Hailey Harward)

MATCH #27 • Wednesday, April 17 • 5:30 p.m. PT
[6] No. 13 USC (12-14) vs. [3] No. 6 BYU (16-8)
MPSF Championship Tournament Quarterfinal

SERIES RECORD: USC trails, 26-51 (.338)
LAST MEETING: W 3-2 (April 6, 2024 • Galen Center)
STREAK: Won 1 • LAST 10 MEETINGS: 3-7
OPPONENT WEBSITE: BYUCougars.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. On March 6, in a win over Penn State, he recorded his 100th-career win.
  • The Trojans are ranked 13th 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 12 times and has outblocked its opponent 15 times. USC's 2.43 blocks per set is third in the MPSF (seventh, NCAA).
  • The Trojans have out-hit their opponent in 13 matches. USC's .292 hitting percentage ranks fifth in the MPSF and is 18th in the NCAA.
  • So. OH Dillon Klein has reached double-digit kills in 20 matches this season and has had 40 double-digit matches in his career.
  • 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 16 for blocks led by Sr. MB Kyle Paulson who is third in the league (seventh in the NCAA) at 1.10 blocks per set.
  • The 2024 MPSF Tournament will be hosted by USC at Galen Center, April 17-20. The championship match will be played on Saturday (April 20) at 6 p.m. PT.

FOLLOW THE TROJANS: Regular-season 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 was defeated by seventh-ranked Stanford in a pair of road matches to conclude the regular season. The losses cemented the Trojans into a sixth-place finish in the MPSF standings and lifted the Cardinal to a fourth-place finish ahead of the league tournament. Stanford took the first meeting in a sweep (25-19, 25-19, 25-23) and put up 10.5 blocks to help out-hit USC, .420 to .200. Dillon Klein collected 14 kills for his 20th double-digit match of the season. In the rematch, USC was without Klein, but made things tough for Stanford in a four-set loss (25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 28-26). The Trojans took the third set with a different lineup than it started with and won set three as Josh Friedman put up a double-double with career highs of 27 assists and 12 digs. Noah Roberts (13), Kyle Paulson (10), and Jack Deuchar (10) all reached double-digit kills while Riley Haine put up a career-high 11 digs.
 
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 played 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 also serves 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. 13 in the April 15 poll.
 

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