Tree time for No. 13 men’s volleyball

The No. 13 USC men’s volleyball team looks to keep up their consistent tradition of beating Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rival and No. 9 ranked Stanford with two games on the slate this weekend between the Trojans and the Cardinal at Galen Center.

USC is 71-35 all time against Stanford, and 8-2 in their last 10 meetings. However, Stanford posts a strong record of 8-5 so far this season and is coming off of an upset victory over No. 7 Pepperdine that has everyone in a Cardinal uniform feeling good. 

The Trojans are coming off their toughest stretch of the season thus far, as they are in the midst of a four-game losing streak that sank their record from 6-2 to an even 6-6. All of the losses have come against ranked opponents, including UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Penn State, Ohio State and Grand Canyon (twice). Despite their struggles, the Trojans are remaining optimistic about their progression throughout the season. 

“How we stay positive, the answer is perspective,” Head Coach Jeff Nygaard said. 

One area of success that continues to give the Trojans that needed positive perspective is their play on the defensive side of the ball. 

“We do know that our block and defense is probably the cornerstone of what we’re doing,” Nygaard said. “We’re holding some pretty prolific offensive teams to way below what they normally do.” 

Knowing that they have one of the best block and defense units in the country with 110 total blocks on the season, ranking second in the MPSF, the Trojans have emphasized improvement in other aspects. 

“So can we take our focus off [defense] a little bit and put it more into these buckets? The answer to that is yes,” Nygaard said. “We need to probably serve more consistently, we need to have better height on our digs so our offense has more of a chance to establish, we need to come in and communicate more about what route’s we are doing in a transition opportunity … the guys are educated on all of it and now we’re just cranking through practice implementing it.” 

And speaking of cornerstones, freshman outside hitter Dillon Klein has continued to establish himself as one of the cornerstones of the offense. 

Through some of the Trojans’ offensive struggles, Klein has been the epitome of offensive success. He has logged double-digit point performances in 10 of the Trojans’ 12 matches and is leading the team with 4.14 points per set. Klein credited his teammates with helping him quickly ascend to a starting role. 

“All the guys on the team have been super welcoming and really helped me find my place on the court and also keep me in my place,” Klein said. 

Nygaard said he thinks Klein is just beginning to scratch the surface of his potential. 

“The good thing about having someone of his talent, character and caliber is that he grows efficiency, awareness, fluidity and calm,” Nygaard said. “He will see the windows of opportunity better [over time], he’ll be able to attack them more effectively and efficiently.”

Klein continues to strive for constant excellence and improvement to outpace opponents’ scouting reports. 

“Just because you tend to hit certain shots doesn’t mean you should stop hitting them because they’re going to know,” Klein said. “If you’re really that good with the shot, you should keep doing it and keep improving.” 

Many Trojan fans are excited to see Klein’s first crack at heated rival Stanford, and the matchup carries extra significance for Klein himself. 

“My grandpa went to Stanford, my dad, my aunt, my uncle, my other aunt, my other uncle and then three of my cousins went there,” Klein said. “One of them [senior forward James Keefe] plays Stanford basketball right now. Me and my grandpa [Trojan legend and former NFL tight end Bob Klein] are the only Trojans in the family. So, getting an opportunity to play against Stanford in L.A. is going to be a great opportunity for me.” 

Trojan fans who attend Sunday’s game will not only have the opportunity to see Klein renew a family rivalry, but the first 500 will  receive a free koozie and get autographs from the team following the match. 

The Trojans are excited to give back to fans who come out for the game. 

“It’s a privilege to represent this great university and everything the men’s volleyball program is and everything the athletic department is,” Nygaard said. “When the opportunity presents itself to stand in front and look people in the eye, shake their hands and just be a role model or an ambassador for your school, your brand, your program, yourself, then we welcome people in.”

The Trojans will face the Cardinal on Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m.