Men’s volleyball hopes extra preparation time will pay off

USC men’s volleyball was set to open its 2021 season this week, but a positive coronavirus test within the program derailed its plans.

USC had to postpone its Jan. 30 season opener at UCLA, Feb. 4 match at home against Pepperdine and Feb. 6 match at Grand Canyon. With just a 14-game condensed regular season schedule to play this season, the Trojans will look to get back to work soon.

Head coach Jeff Nygaard said the team’s appreciation for this season has grown since the news of the cancellation.

“If you deny people the ability to play the sport that they love long enough, they really start learning that they love it and that it’s a part of them,” Nygaard said. “Yesterday, back in the gym … I didn’t see a single ounce of anybody not going hard, not playing hard [and] not competing.”

In their last full season in 2019 the Trojans had their best season under Nygaard, doubling their win total from 2018 as they went 18-11 overall and 7-5 in Pac-12 play. With most of last year’s team coming back for this shortened season senior libero Cole Paxson feels the team’s experiences can give it an advantage. 

“I am very confident in this team this year,” Paxson said. “We pretty much brought back everyone. We are looking older this year and got a lot of seniors that can be playing on the court at the same time.” 

The extended offseason for the Trojans has allowed the team to put some valuable time into preparation. Paxson has noticed his teammates have come out improved and aggressive this season. 

“It seems like a lot of people took the offseason pretty seriously,” Paxson said. “We got a lot of older guys, and the younger guys who came through, who put in a lot of work this offseason and look like they are hitting the ball pretty hard.”

Senior setter Chris Hall described the opportunity the new season brings and how being conscious of the coronavirus can be a huge advantage for this USC squad.  

“I think one of our best advantages could be being responsible and staying healthy,” Hall said. “Generally just having everyone in the gym is what we want.”

With so many seniors on the roster, leadership within the team is strong this season. Hall mentioned the players hosting Zoom calls with freshmen as a great way to acclimate the new players. 

“We really have a culture of bringing in the new guys and making them feel at home,” Hall said. “We did a ton of Zoom meetings, acclimating the freshmen to everything they need to know.”

Due to coronavirus protocols, the Trojans will play back to back matches against the same opponent on weekends throughout the season. This includes taking on Concordia and Stanford three times in a row on back-to-back weekends.

With this new format to the MPSF season, USC will become quite familiar with the same opponents after taking them on twice a row. Nygaard said the irregular schedule can pose new challenges for the Trojans.

“In terms of a scouting report, you do not have to make huge adjustments,” Nygaard said. “It’s going to be a unique season; there’s no question.”

Nygaard said the team was motivated in team scrimmages by the opportunity to be named in the starting lineup for the season opener.

“There was quite a premium by the guys as to who was going to get to compete against UCLA in that [game],” Nygaard said. “I like the fact that if we are to play our rival the first week … I like that that gives a sense of urgency to the team.”

In an odd season with so few opponents the goal for the Trojans remains the same. 

“The team goal is to win a national title,” Hall said.

The Trojans will start their quest for a national championship when they take on crosstown rival UCLA on Feb. 13 at Pauley Pavilion to open the 2021 season.