USC Men's Volleyball Hosts Concordia In MPSF Opener, Then Goes To 2-Time Defending NCAA Champ Long Beach State

THE FACTS
The USC men's volleyball team (1-2 overall, 0-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation)--looking to bounce back after a pair of losses at last weekend's AVCA Men's Showcase--opens 2020 MPSF play at home when it welcomes Concordia (2-2, 0-0 MPSF) to the Galen Center Pavilion (NOTE SITE CHANGE) on Thursday (Jan. 16) at 7 p.m. PT, then the Trojans visit No. 5 Long Beach State (3-0, 0-0 Big West), the 2-time defending NCAA champion, on Friday (Jan. 17) at 7 p.m. PT in the Walter Pyramid.

THURSDAY SITE CHANGE
The location of this Thursday's (Jan. 16) USC vs. Concordia MPSF match has been moved to the Galen Center Pavilion because of a late scheduling conflict in the North Gym (the match's original location). The Galen Center Pavilion, which houses the practice courts, is located upstairs at the south end of the Galen Center. Match time remains at 7 p.m. PT. Admission is free. (Note that there also is the USC-California men's basketball game in the Galen Center that night at 7:30 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. Concordia is not ranked, while Long Beach State is tied for No. 5.

OPPONENTS
•USC holds an 8-2 series edge over Concordia and has won the last 3 meetings, including twice last season (3-2 on the road and then 3-1 at home).

•USC is 62-53 all-time against Long Beach State, including most recently a 3-0 home sweep last season in the North Gym to snap the 49ers' 23-match winning streak (Troy's first win over a No. 1 team since 2013). USC was 1 of just 2 teams to beat LBSU in 2019.

LAST MATCHES
See page 8 for a recap of USC's matches in last week's AVCA Men's Showcase, 3-0 losses to host George Mason and then to New Jersey Institute of Technology.

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