USC Men's Volleyball Faces Nation's Top 2 Teams, No. 3 UC Irvine At Galen And No. 1 Long Beach State On Road

THE FACTS
The USC men's volleyball team (4-2 overall, 0-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), after 2 weeks on the road, steps up its competition level this week when it faces 2 of the nation's top 3 teams in non-conference contests. USC first plays its 2019 home opener against No. 3 UC Irvine (6-1, 0-0 Big West) on Wednesday (Jan. 23) at the Galen Center and then travels to No. 1 Long Beach State (6-0, 0-0 Big West), the defending NCAA champion, on Friday (Jan. 25) in the Walter Pyramid. Both matches against the Big West opponents begin at 7 p.m. PT.

FOLLOW THE TROJANS
All of USC's home matches are video- and audio-streamed live for free on USCTrojans.com and the TuneIn Radio app, except for matches televised live on Pac-12 Network (those matches only are audio-streamed). USC's online announcers are ex-Trojan player and assistant coach Mark Beltran and onetime Northeastern player/Winthrop assistant coach Paul Duchesne. Fans also can follow USC home matches through Live Stats at USCTrojans.com and all matches via Twitter (@USCmensvolley).

RANKINGS
USC is not ranked in the current AVCA Division I-II Top 15 poll. UC Irvine is No. 3, while Long Beach State is No. 1.

OPPONENTS
USC leads its series with UC Irvine, 39-32, but has lost the past 2 meetings, including in 3 sets at home in 2018. The Trojans hold a 61-52 lead in their series with Long Beach State, but have dropped the last 3 meetings, most recently in 3 sets on the road last season.

50TH SEASON
The 2019 season is the 50th of USC men's volleyball. Since 1970, the Trojan program has been among the finest in college: winning 4 NCAA championships, playing in 14 NCAA Final Fours and producing 20 Olympians, 34 All-American first teamers and 7 College Players of the Year.

Next Event