No. 5 men’s volleyball travels north to take on Stanford


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The Trojans celebrate after a point during their match against UC Irvine on Jan. 26.
The Trojans celebrate after a point during their match against UC Irvine on Jan. 26. (Vonmay Mendoza | Daily Trojan)

Red-hot USC men’s volleyball team travels up to the Farm this weekend for a huge two-match series with No. 14 Stanford.

Ranked No. 5 in the country, the Trojans enter the series on a six-match winning streak, with victories over No. 7 Pepperdine, BYU, George Mason, Vanguard and Menlo. In addition, all six of the Trojans’ wins during the little over one-month span have come in four sets or fewer.

At 16-3 on the season, USC comes second in Division 1 wins this year, behind only No. 2 Penn State, currently 17-3. The Trojans’ strong play has not gone unrecognized, as the team even received a single first-place vote in the AVCA Coaches’ Poll this week.

A key player in USC’s recent hot stretch is senior outside hitter Brandon Browning, who currently ranks third on the team in digs with 99 and fourth in both kills and service aces with 110 and 11, respectively.

“Everyone is motivated and really confident right now,” said Browning in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “We have some really good competition coming up, so we’re really excited.”

If the Trojans aim to continue their winning streak, they will have to take down a dangerous Stanford team. Despite faltering a bit down the stretch — losing five of their past six matches — the Cardinal still sit at No. 14 in the country, with more than enough talent to take down a top-five opponent. 

One player that USC needs to prepare for is junior outside hitter Will Rottman. Rottman currently leads Stanford in kills with 245 and in service aces with 24. Rottman’s 0.38 service aces per set are good for ninth in the MPSF and ahead of any USC player. In addition, he is fourth on the team in both digs — with 91 — and in blocks — with 26.0.

The Trojans also have to worry about junior setter Nathan Lietzke. Lietzke’s 603 assists on the season lead Stanford by a wide margin, and his 9.89 assists per set rank sixth most in the MPSF. For reference, USC redshirt senior setter Chris Hall leads the conference with 13.22 assists per set.

According to Browning, however, USC cannot worry too much about Stanford’s talented roster. Instead, it must focus on its own team and ensure it brings its A-game up to the Farm.

“At the end of the day, really the only thing we can control is us,” Browning said. “If we go and do that, I think we play really good volleyball, and that’s really all that we can ask for from ourselves.” 

To avoid a slip-up at the hands of its conference rivals, USC cannot get caught looking ahead. After a trip to the Bay Area this weekend, the Trojans return back to Galen Center for a huge two-match set against No. 1 UCLA next week. 

However, Browning said that the Trojans know they must stay focused on the upcoming matches with Stanford to keep their winning streak intact.

“It’s a lot about staying in the moment,” Browning said. “Just really trying to be present, and taking it a day at a time.” 

USC will take on Stanford Friday at 7 p.m. and then again Saturday evening at 6 p.m. at Maples Pavilion.