USC Men's Volleyball Hosts Fall Tournament On Saturday

The USC men's volleyball team will host the pre-season 2021 USC Fall Tournament this Saturday (Nov. 6) in the Galen Center Pavilion. 

The Trojans will be joined in the 10-team field by Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponents Stanford and Concordia, plus non-conference foes Long Beach State, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego, Cal State Northridge, Vanguard and Saint Katherine. 

Competition begins at 8 a.m. with the first 4 matches of the tourney and continues with matches at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and the final matches at 3:30 p.m. 

USC will sport a Cardinal squad and a Gold team.  Long Beach State, Cal State Northridge, UC Santa Barbara, UC San Diego and Concordia also will have split squads.   

Admission is free;  fans age 2 and older must show proof of a full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result taken within 72 hours of entry, and they must be masked while in the Galen Center Pavilion. The Galen Center Pavilion is adjacent to the Galen Center, with the volleyball courts on the upstairs level. 

USC Cardinal faces Concordia at 9:30 a.m., Long Beach State Gold at 11 a.m. and UC Irvine at 2 p.m.   

USC Gold plays UC San Diego at 8 a.m., UC Santa Barbara at 11 a.m. and Cal State Northridge at 3:30 p.m. 

The other matches at 8 a.m. are Long Beach State vs. UC Irvine, UC San Diego vs. Long Beach State and Concordia vs. Cal State Northridge. 

At 9:30 a.m., it's Cal State Northridge vs. UC Santa Barbara, Saint Katherine vs. Stanford and UC Santa Barbara vs. Vanguard. 

UC San Diego vs. Stanford and Concordia vs. Vanguard will play at 11 a.m.   

Then at 12:30 p.m., it's Cal State Northridge vs. UC San Diego, Concordia vs. UC Irvine, Saint Katherine vs. Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara vs. Cal State Northridge. 

UC San Diego vs. UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State v. Stanford and Cal State Northridge vs. Vanguard start at 2 p.m.   

In the 3:30 p.m. slot, it's Long Beach State vs. Concordia, UC San Diego vs. Saint Katherine and Concordia vs. UC Santa Barbara. 

All matches will be the best of 3 sets, with the first 2 sets played to 25 points and the third set to 15 points. 

The Trojans will conclude their 3-tourney fall schedule by participating in the UCLA Fall Tournament next Friday and Saturday (Nov. 12-13).  USC then will open its 2022 regular season at the UCSB Asics Invitational on Jan. 6-8.  

Fifteen players return from last year's USC roster, including starters at 3 positions and the libero.  Key returnees include setter Chris Hall and libero Cole Paxson, both 3-year starters, and outside hitter Brandon Browning, a 2-year starter.  Among the newcomers are UCLA graduate transfer Sam Kobrine, who likely will play outside hitter.