Men’s volleyball aims for road revival


By
 in ,
Two USC volleyball players are preparing to dig the ball.
The Trojans are looking for a bounce-back series this week against the BYU Cougars after suffering two straight series losses at the hands of Long Beach and Pepperdine the past few weekends. (Louis Chen | Daily Trojan)

No. 11 USC men’s volleyball is sure to face a tough test this week when they travel to BYU for two games against the No. 7 Cougars Thursday and Friday. 

The Trojans are 1-5 in true road matches this season and 0-5 in road matches against teams ranked higher than them. The Trojans know they need to find their groove away from home with postseason play on the horizon. 

“It’s about finding the right balance of our team’s chemistry when we’re on the road,” said senior libero and team captain George Dyer. “I think that’s really important because once we get the team chemistry on the road the same as when we’re at home, we’re gonna be killer.” 

The trip to Provo will be the second-furthest distance the Trojans will travel all season. Fortunately, they have a good opportunity to be very competitive against a talented Cougar team. BYU has gone through a similar season as the Trojans, with some wins that show they can play with anyone but with some devastating losses revealing some holes in their roster. The Trojans know that the Cougars are dangerous but not without flaws. They have done their homework and will try to exploit those shortcomings this week. 

“[The team’s] ability to absorb and learn and apply has grown exponentially from day one to now,” Head Coach Jeff Nygaard said. “We want to make sure that we’re able to apply it night one and night two.”

The Trojans will look to rely on their blocks and defense, which has become one of the best in the country. The Trojans are 10th in the nation with 2.3 blocks per set and hold opponents to a .273 hitting percentage on average. Against Long Beach, the Trojans held a team that usually hits .342 to just a .260 hitting clip. 

“The backbone of our team is the fact that we can do a nice job defensively,” Nygaard said. “We’ve shown that consistently.”  

The anchor of that defense has been Dyer. With such a reliable defender ever-present on the court, the rest of the Trojans are emboldened to match his aggressiveness defensively. 

In addition to always being ready to make a point-saving dig, Dyer hopes to savor the road trip experience with his team. As a senior, it is unclear how many more of these trips Dyer may have in his career, so he’s savoring this one. 

“I’m with these guys, they’re crazy, they’re nuts but they’re my team,” Dyer said. “I’m really just excited to enjoy it, we got two matches away at a fun place, fun environment; BYU is really exciting.” 

The Trojans are hungry to make the trip unforgettable by pulling off an upset or two. Whether they win or lose, the X-factor will likely be their offensive play. 

“Right now, we’re holding [other teams] to low defensive standards, but we’re not finishing it up with offense,” Dyer said.

So, the Trojans have set a clear offensive goal and have worked day in and day out to reach it. 

“We all know full well what our goal is, we want to get our offense north of .300,” Nygaard said. “If we can couple .300 plus [hitting] with the block and defense, then we’re going to peak at the end.”

Trojans fans hope USC breaks out offensively this week, and they will find out Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. at Smith Fieldhouse or on BYU TV.