No. 2 Seed USC Men's Volleyball Set for MPSF Tournament

LOS ANGELES – The fifth-ranked USC men's volleyball team (20-6, 8-4 MPSF) concluded the regular season in second place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and was selected as the second seed in the MPSF tournament. By virtue of their seed, the Trojans advance directly to the semifinals and will play at 8 p.m. PT on Friday (April 25) at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif. USC will face either No. 3 seed BYU (19-9, 7-5) or the winner of a match between sixth-seeded Stanford (11-14, 4-8) and seventh-seeded Menlo (13-12, 7-5). Last year, the Trojans earned a five-set win over BYU in the quarterfinals before falling to UCLA in the semifinals. USC is 16-20 all-time in MPSF tournament matches and last won the tourney title in 2009.

2025 MPSF TOURNAMENT
Firestone Fieldhouse • Malibu, Calif.
TV: Big Ten Plus (B1G+) / Big Ten Network (BTN)

MATCH #27 • Friday, April 25 • 8 p.m. PT
MPSF SEMIFINAL: [2] #5 USC (20-6) vs. TBD
Firestone Fieldhouse • Malibu, Calif.

MPSF TOURNAMENT RECORD: 16-20 (.444)
LAST MATCH: L 3-0 vs. UCLA (April 18, 2024)
STREAK: Lost 1 • LAST 10 MATCHES: 4-6
CONFERENCE WEBSITE: mpsports.org

FIRST SERVE (TL;DR)

USC is led by 10th-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 Men of Troy are 16-20 all-time in MPSF tournament matches and last won the tourney title in 2009 under head coach Bill Ferguson.
USC leads the NCAA in blocks (2.76 bps) and leads the MPSF in kills (13.19 kps, 4th NCAA), assists (12.28 aps, 3rd NCAA), and digs (8.77 dps). It is also second in the MPSF in hitting percentage (.351, 4th NCAA).
The Trojans have reached double-digit blocks in 14 matches.
USC has collected 13 wins over ranked opponents including road wins over No. 6 BYU (twice), a win at No. 3 Hawai'i, and a home win over No. 2 UCLA.
Fr. OH Sterling Foley earned his first MPSF Player of the Week award (April 21) and became the fifth different Trojan to earn defensive honors this season.
Jr. OH Dillon Klein has reached double-digit kills in 18 matches and has had 59 double-digit matches in his career. His 3.83 kills per set rank second in the MPSF (17th, NCAA) and he is fourth in points at 4.38 pps (22nd, NCAA).
So. S Caleb Blanchette leads the MPSF in assists (10.70 aps, 3rd NCAA).
Fr. LIB Johnny Dykstra leads the MPSF in digs (2.19 dps), 19th in the NCAA.
Fr. MB Parker Tomkinson leads the MPSF in blocks (10th, NCAA) with 1.10 bps. Gr. MB Guy Genis is third in the MPSF in blocks (1.03 bps, 16th in the NCAA).

LAST TIME OUT: USC ended a four-match losing streak and halted a 10-match streak against UCLA with a 3-0 sweep of the No. 2-ranked Bruins to conclude the regular season. In the teams' first meeting, the Trojans took UCLA to five sets at Pauley Pavilion but came up short as Cooper Robinson (25) and Zach Rama (19) led the Bruin offense. Still dealing with injuries, the Trojans modified their lineup and were led by 11 kills apiece from Dillon Klein and Christian Connell who came in in relief of Jack Deuchar. USC collected 12.5 blocks in the loss for its 14th match in double digits. In the rematch at Galen Center, Klein had nine kills to lead the Trojans to a 3-0 sweep. Deuchar collected eight kills without a hitting error and served three aces as the Trojan offense hit .426 for its 19th match over .300 and the 10th over .400. Sterling Foley put up six blocks (three solo) to lift the USC defense.

POLL POSITION: The Trojans were ranked No. 7 in the AVCA Preseason Poll. In 2024, the poll expanded to 20 teams (previously 15). USC is currently ranked No. 5in the April 21 poll; the Trojans' 500th time with a ranking in the coaches poll. The Trojans first reached fifth on Feb. 3 to mark their highest position since they were also ranked No. 5 in 2022 (April 18). On March 10, USC's spot at No. 5 marked the 200th time the Trojans had been ranked in the AVCA Poll's top five. The Trojans' reached the top three (March 24) for the first time in over 10 years and were previously ranked as high as third on Feb. 16, 2015.

POW-WOW: Trojans have collected Molten/MPSF Player of the Week honors eight times this spring; three of the offensive variety and five defensive awards. OH Dillon Klein (Defensive) and MB Parker Tomkinson (Offensive) were chosen for MPSF Player of the Week awards on Jan. 27 and repeated for the opposite awards one week later (Feb. 3). On March 17, Klein earned his second offensive honor and was joined by first-time winner LIB Johnny Dykstra who claimed the defensive award. On March 31, S Caleb Blanchette earned the first weekly award of his career and then OPP Sterling Foley earned his first on April 21 as the fifth different Trojan to win Defensive Player of the Week. Klein has collected five-career weekly honors; four offensive and one defensive. Tomkinson—a freshman—earned both offensive and defensive weekly honors in short order. USC has swept the weekly awards five times since March 7, 2022.

STEEP INKLEIN: OH Dillon Klein was chosen as the AVCA's National Player of the Week on Feb. 4 and repeated the feat on March 18. His second selection made him the first player to win multiple awards this season. He is also the first USC player to be selected for the national weekly award more than once in his career since Tony Ciarelli (four times from 2010-12). Klein joins Ciarelli (4), Murphy Troy (3), Brooks Billings (3), and Eli Fairfield (2) and becomes the fifth Trojan to have won national player of the week honors multiple times. Klein (2025) and Ciarelli (2011) are the only two Trojans to have won more than once in the same season.

BIG BLOCK ENERGY: The Trojans' 2.76 blocks per set rank first in both the MPSF and in the NCAA. USC has racked up double-digit blocks in 14 of its 26 contests including a season-high 17 at CSUN (Jan. 22). Three Trojan starters rank in the MPSF's top 15 for blocks led by freshman MB Parker Tomkinson who leads the league at 1.10 bps (10th in the NCAA). MB Guy Genis ranks third in the league at 1.03 bps to rank 16th in the NCAA. OH Sterling Foley ranks 14th at 0.77 bps.

RECORD HIGH: USC's .691 hitting percentage against Dominican (Feb. 8) set a new school record. It also tied the third-highest single-match output by an MPSF team—a mark also equaled by Pepperdine this season. The Trojans have hit north of .300 in 19 matches with 10 matches north of the .400 mark. Six times, USC has logged a hitting percentage higher than .450. USC's .351 hitting ranks second in the MPSF and is fourth in the NCAA.

PRIORITY DELIVERY: S Caleb Blanchette leads the NCAA in assists (10.70 aps). He has equaled his career-high (61) in two matches this season (at UC Irvine, Feb. 12; at BYU, March 7), crossed the 1,500-assist mark in his career (1,906), and is poised to reach the 2,000-assist plateau in short order.

JOHNNY ON THE SPOT: LIB Johnny Dykstra leads the MPSF in digs with 2.19 dps. He has produced eight matches in double-digit digs and ranks 19th in the nation for digs, fourth best among the nation's freshmen.

1K DK: OH Dillon Klein has reached double-digit kills in 59 of 76 career matches and reached the 1,000-kill mark in his career on April 17 in a match at UCLA. He now has 1,013 career kills and counting.

JUST DEU IT: OPP Jack Deuchar has played in just half of the team's contests this spring. After missing the first eight matches of the season, his return yielded immediate dividends. He has produced eight matches in double-digit kills including a season-high 23 in a win at BYU. Deuchar logged a casual season-high .600 hitting percentage with 20 kills on 30 attacks (2e) in a win over Grand Canyon (March 28) and is the team's second-leading scorer at 4.13 points per set (3.50 kps). Deuchar leads the team with 0.31 service aces per set.

LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN: The Trojans are 31-35 all-time in conference and regional playoffs dating back to 1971, which includes seven playoff championships. In the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) tournament, USC is 16-20 and last won the MPSF tourney title in 2009.

No. 2 Seed USC Men's Volleyball Set for MPSF Tournament

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caleb Blanchette

Christian Connell

Jack Deuchar

Johnny Dykstra

Sterling Foley

Guy Genis

Dillon Klein

Parker Tomkinson

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University Southern California Trojans

No. 2 Seed USC Men's Volleyball Set for MPSF Tournament

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caleb Blanchette

Christian Connell

Jack Deuchar

Johnny Dykstra

Sterling Foley

Guy Genis

Dillon Klein

Parker Tomkinson

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