No. 12 Men’s Volleyball awaits pivotal home series
The stage is set for a Trojan counterattack as the No. 12 USC men’s volleyball team hosts Grand Canyon University twice this week, Wednesday and Friday night at Galen Center.
The 6-4 Trojans have endured a tough schedule so far, with five matches against ranked opponents and only one home match. The Lopes, on the other hand, have cruised to an undefeated 11-0 record but have benefited from nine home matches and only three ranked matchups.
The teams’ matchups this week represent a reversal of fortune: The Trojans, coming off a week and a half of rest, practice and preparation, will be beginning their first homestand of the season with a five-game stretch at Galen Center. The Lopes are facing a tough road stretch for the first time all season — four straight road games against ranked opponents, beginning with their clashes with the Trojans. In the end, the result will be decided not by who is facing a tougher task on paper, but instead by who excels on a square court with a net, and it’s the players on both sides that will factor into the result.
GCU is hoping that its superstar-studded offense can continue to produce an output that has the entire country on notice. Their redshirt junior outside hitter, Jackson Hickman, was named AVCA national player of the week for the first week of February, the same week in which their redshirt sophomore setter Nicholas Slight won a Setter of the Week honor. It’s safe to say that the offense has been clicking on all cylinders, and following a dominant 3-0 sweep of Arizona Christian, they have never looked tougher to stop. But, the Trojans are meeting the Lopes’ haymaker of an offense with a crushing counterattack of a defense.
“We’ve been really good on the defensive side of the ball, holding prolific offenses to way lower [hitting percentages] than they’re used to,” said Head Coach Jeff Nygaard.
Excellent play from senior libero George Dyer has anchored that defense. A big key to Dyer’s success has been his ability to remain levelheaded and treat every point, no matter the circumstance, exactly the same. Dyer was levelheaded as usual when asked how the team was preparing for such a prolific offense.
“We just keep going at our regular gameplan, one thing at a time,” Dyer said. “I think that will put us in a good position for success.”
Dyer’s steadiness also enables him to be one of the vocal leaders on the team, constantly encouraging and leading his teammates.
“It’s just about moving onto the next play, because you can’t change the past,” Dyer said.
The Trojans will need Dyer’s reminders about resilience and refocus constantly for the rest of the season, because the games against GCU mark the beginning of MPSF conference play. Every game from now on will be critical and have little margin for error in a conference filled with ranked opponents.
“[When] we go into conference, we know it’s a snakepit,” Nygaard said. “We know we’re USC and everyone wants to beat us, we know that’s just part of the gig. There’s no surprises in that regard.”
Fortunately, Nygaard is confident that his Trojans will rise to the challenge.
“My guys just love to compete,” Nygaard said. “I know that, going into a match where this team is going to be ranked top five, I know we’re going to be mentally checked in. I know that we’re going to be mentally fired up for that.”
It truly will be an exciting clash that no one on the team wants fans to miss.
“The one game we did have at home was pretty electric,” Dyer said. “We just want to keep that energy going throughout the rest of the season … I really want to encourage anyone who is reading this that every voice matters, and is really helpful, and I’m really excited about what we’ve got going on this season.”
As Dyer alluded to, Trojan fans only need to see the results of the first home game against UC Santa Barbara, which had a record-breaking crowd and an electric atmosphere, to have every reason to pack Galen Center this week.
“We had the highest attendance the last time out, and a lot of people walked away just kind of blown away with the reality of what watching collegiate men’s volleyball is,” Nygaard said. “It’s a great product with great human beings, come on out and be a part.”
Trojan fans will have double the opportunity to be a part of something special at Galen Center this week when the Trojans take on the GCU Lopes twice, Wednesday and Friday at 7 p.m.