To solidify what is now their most dominant stretch of volleyball in 13 years, the No. 6 USC men’s volleyball team (4-0) swept Emmanuel University (0-3) on Saturday night. The 3-0 victory marked their third straight sweep and the first time they have had three consecutive sweeps since the 2012 season.

The starting lineup looked a little different for the Trojans on Saturday as they sought to test their own depth in a matchup against a Division II opponent. Freshman middle blocker Parker Tomkinson, freshman outside hitter Sterling Foley and redshirt sophomore opposite hitter Noah Roberts were the only regular starters in the lineup for USC; joining them were junior setter Ryan Sprague, freshman libero Johnny Dykstra, freshman outside hitter Christian Connell and senior middle blocker Markus Olsson.

Head Coach Jeff Nygaard, knowing that the lesser-division Lions should be one of their easier non-conference matchups to win, took advantage of the outlook and inserted some of the more sparingly used players so that the Trojans could continue to cultivate depth should they need to lean on it as the season progresses.

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“They were less experienced, and they needed the experience,” Nygaard said. “We are a deep team, we’re a physical team, and for us to get to our goals, we are going to need all these guys primed and ready to go.”

With so many new players in the lineup and especially so many freshmen, it would have been understandable if the Trojans hit a few more bumps in the road than normal on their way to beating the Lions.

It seemed as though that would be the case when the score was tied 7-7 in the first set, but the Trojans settled in and outscored Emmanuel 18-5, cruising to a 25-12 set win.

Even more assured of a likely victory, the Trojans removed regular starter Tomkinson from the lineup and inserted freshman middle blocker Tyler Robinson. The change made no difference as the Trojans sprinted to an early 9-1 lead and then secured a 25-9 victory.

Robinson played a crucial role during that set, recording 4 kills on a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage to boost the Trojans’ performance.

The Trojans continued their dominance in the third set, never tying or trailing the Lions on their way to a 25-15 set win to give them the 3-0 sweep.

When the dust settled, Connell led the Trojans with 10 kills on .529 hitting, as well as 2 service aces. In his first collegiate start, the freshman backup looked like a seasoned veteran starter and savored every moment of it.

“I would say we’ve had a lot of preparation, so it didn’t feel like too big of a jump getting out there, but it’s great getting on the court and having fun with the guys,” Connell said.

While Connell’s night in the spotlight may have been a pleasant surprise for Trojan fans, it didn’t shock Nygaard one bit.

“You guys get the tip of the iceberg when he goes and performs but that’s a guy that does it in our practice gym all the time,” Nygaard said.

Men’s volleyball must be maximizing their practices considering how well the team is performing to begin the season. It can be difficult for players with so little game experience to be as disciplined as some of the most experienced veterans, but that’s exactly how the Trojans have looked so far this season.

Fielding their most inexperienced lineup of the year, the Trojans still made it through the match with minimal errors, making only six attacking errors and one receiving error on the night, which keyed their smooth offensive performance, hitting at a .492 clip.

Sure enough, Nygaard credited all the work in practice as the reason for USC’s poise.

“You don’t rise to the competition; you sink to your training,” Nygaard said. “There was a number of distractions in there … and they just refused to break focus.”

The inexperienced Trojans were also helped by the consistent presence of one of their most established veteran players in Roberts. Roberts — the only non-freshman regular starter in the lineup for the Trojans Saturday — put up a steady performance with 13 points to lead the Trojans. He racked up 8 kills but also put up a career-high seven blocks, giving the Trojans strong defense they could rely on throughout the match.

But despite all he did to help the Trojans to victory, Roberts gave all the credit to his teammates for their ability to stay calm and collected throughout the match.

“I love to see the younger guys being able to keep up with college volleyball,” Roberts said. “It’s definitely a jump when you go from different levels of competition, and the gap from club to college is huge. The way that they’re able to handle it, some guys getting their first points, it was awesome. It was great to see.”

The next test for the Trojans is seeing how they handle one of their most consistently difficult road opponents, No. 15 Cal State Northridge, on the road.

The Trojans are going to continue to rely on a similar, simple formula to try and extend their winning streak.

“Just keep grinding in practice, in the gym, keep lifting weights, keep getting better,” Connell said. “One day at a time. Can’t control too much in the future, but just take it day by day.”

The Trojans will take on the ranked Matadors on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Premiere American Credit Union Arena in Northridge, and Trojan fans can also catch the action on ESPN+.