Men’s volleyball eyes first win, ready for back-to-back

The No. 13 men’s volleyball team starts off MPSF play against No. 14 Cal State Northridge Friday and will then look forward to No. 3 Long Beach State Saturday.

The Trojans (0-2, 0-0 MPSF) will look to bounce back after their losses to No. 10 Penn State and No. 7 Ohio State. Even though USC lost, head coach Jeff Nygaard isn’t discouraged by the losses.

“This was just a great experience for us to learn and to grow,” Nygaard said. “And to get back where we want to be.”

Since taking the coaching reigns, Nygaard has seen progress from the team, and he knows that it could take some time for the team to develop between the practice and game scenarios.

For senior libero Brooks Varni, the team’s progress is stemming from their process.

“We just want to stick to the process,” Varni said. “Even though it came with two losses, you just have to trust what we’re doing here.”

Playing in the MPSF is no easy task. Currently, ten of the conference’s 12 teams are ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll with the Top 5 being all MPSF teams (BYU, UCLA, CSULB, UC Irvine, Hawaii).

Up first for the Trojans are the Matadors of CSUN (5-0, 1-0 MPSF). Northridge is one of eight unbeaten teams in the MPSF. The Matadors were the first team to pick up a conference win after sweeping Cal Baptist.

Northridge dominated at the net against Cal Baptist, out-blocking them 13 to two. For the Trojans to run an effective offense against the Matadors, they will have to challenge the block and attack with a solid swing.

“It’s almost maniacal in how they do it,” Nygaard said. “Their guys are extremely physical.”

Three players to watch for are junior outside hitter Jakub Ciesla, redshirt freshman middle blocker Eric Chance and freshman outside hitter Dimitar Kalchev. The Matadors’ fast blocks come from all three, but mainly Chance (20 blocks) and Ciesla (15 blocks). Offensively, Ciesla, Chance and Kalchev are just as threatening. Ciesla and Kalchev lead the team with 54 and 52 kills, respectively.

Away from the net, Northridge is strong from the service line. Receiving serves well will be key for USC to run their offense effectively and challenge Northridge at the net.

“If we’re able to mitigate their serves and run our offense,” Nygaard said. “We put ourselves in a position to win that match.”

The next night, the Trojans face the 49ers of CSULB (3-0, 0-0 MPSF). Long Beach State runs a bit of a different scheme, but they bring experience to the court.

“They’re going to be extremely experienced at the right positions,” Nygaard said. “They’ve got extreme physicality.”

Freshman outside hitters TJ DeFalco and Kyle Ensing lead the 49ers offense with 37 and 34 kills, respectively. DeFalco was the No. 1 recruit for the Class of 2015.

With the physicality at the net for Long Beach State, Nygaard noted the similarities in the challenges that each opponent will bring to the match. Again, the key for USC will be to run their offense effectively and focus on themselves more so than their opponent.

“If we play our side and take care of our side of the net,” Nygaard said, “We put ourselves in a good chance to win.”

For USC to compete offensively, they’ll need solid performances from junior outside hitter Lucas Yoder and sophomore opposite Jon Rivera, who both lead the team with 18 kills. Senior middle blocker Tommy Leonard will have to maintain a strong presence in the middle at the net. Leonard leads the team with five blocks and has nine kills.

Despite the tough competition throughout the league, Leonard trusts his team’s ability to compete in the MPSF. He recognizes that even in practice they play against “one of the best teams in the country.”

“We go out there, and we do what we got to do on a daily basis,” Leonard said. “It doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the court.”

Both matches start at 7 p.m. Following the road trip, the team has four days off before taking on UC Santa Barbara at the Galen Center.