No. 10 Men’s Volleyball outlasts CSUN 

The No. 10 USC men’s volleyball team conquered the northern territories with a 3-1 win over California State University, Northridge Wednesday night. The win advanced the team’s record to 6-2 on the season. The Trojans, who had previously beaten CSUN 3-0 at the ASICS invitational, were looking to run the Matadors out of their gym with another big win. The Matadors hoped to defend their perfect 3-0 home record at the Matadome and pull off an upset victory. 

Both teams tried to impose their will in the first set, leading to a back-and-forth scoring affair. In the end, it was the Trojans who came out ahead. A kill by freshman outside hitter Dillon Klein and a service ace by junior setter Nate Tennant helped USC break a 17-17 tie, and they never looked back — winning the set 25-22 and going up 1-0 in the match. However, the Matadors made it clear in the second set that the game wasn’t going to be as easy for the Trojans as their previous victory against them. CSUN took advantage of the Trojans’ errors and built a lead of up to 11 points, then held on for a 25-19 set victory to even the match 1-1. 

The set loss was a tough stretch in the match that could have easily discouraged the Trojans, but senior libero George Dyer’s vocal leadership helped the Trojans keep their energy up and gain some momentum heading into the third set. Head Coach Jeff Nygaard credited Dyer for that leadership, which he said was equally a credit to Dyer’s vocal initiative and his high-level play. 

“George has always been a vocal leader for this team, but what I am proud to say is that his vocal performance is bolstered by the fact that he’s doing a nice job as a libero,” Nygaard said. 

The Trojans roared back in the third set, making a statement with a 25-16 win, equaling their largest margin of victory in a set all season. 

They kept momentum on their side in the fourth set, nearly equaling their effort from the third set with a 25-17 set victory to give them a 3-1 win in the match and a 2-0 sweep of the Matadors on the season. The win was fueled by a blocking clinic put on by the Trojans, who set a new season high with 11 blocks as a team. 

Nygaard credited the blocking performance to the Trojans’ understanding of CSUN’s offensive rhythm and ensuing adjustments they made to their timing. 

“I think once we got into the rhythm of the game they started seeing the game, [and] the game started to slow down for them,” Nygaard said. “Their cadence was on point to when they needed to be over the net.”

The blocking effort was led by season-best performances from both of the Trojans’ middle blockers. Junior middle blocker Kyle Paulson led the team in blocks with seven, a new career-high total for the third-year Trojan. 

“Kyle Paulson really stepped forward … he had a lot of major blocks tonight and put together a real good blocking performance,” Nygaard said. 

Paulson credited his success to diligent preparation. 

“I like to take in the game plan before the game and then just figure out what [CSUN’s] setter is doing and try to read the hitters,” he said. 

The Trojans’ other starting middle blocker, senior Lucas Frassrand, also put together an excellent performance. Frassrand matched his season high with four blocks and had two important service aces. 

Frassrand said tough serving was a big part of the Trojans’ success. 

“We were doing a good job of bringing some heat from the service line, which [also] makes it easier to put up a good block,” Frassrand said. 

Nygaard praised both middle blockers for their decision-making and leadership on the front line, saying those were the main factors in his teams’ elite blocking effort. 

“As a middle, you’re tasked with making those decisions in the front row to give everyone the best opportunity to score,” Nygaard said. “A lot of those [blocks] came from their read of the game … seeing what the other team is about to do and making a plan.”

Following their second consecutive win, the Trojans will look to extend their winning streak next week with two games against formidable Big Ten opponents, Penn State and Ohio State, in the Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge. The tournament is set to take place in Pennsylvania, the furthest the Trojans have played away from home all season. That doesn’t bother Coach Nygaard one bit.

“We’re going to be in a rectangle on a floor with an eight-foot net and a ball, and it’s our job to play good,” he said. “What’s that got to do with where?”