USC’s scorching men’s volleyball team cannot be stopped. Over the first few weeks of the season, the Trojans have been too hot to handle.

After opening up its road trip in Wilberforce, Ohio with a dominant win against Central State University on Wednesday, No. 6 USC (8-0) rolled past No. 13 Ohio State (3-5) and No. 17 Penn State (0-6) in the Big Ten Challenge this past weekend. The Trojans remain undefeated, winning eight consecutive games to start the season for the first time since 1991.

On Friday, the Trojans defeated the Buckeyes in four tight sets behind a high-powered offense. Junior outside hitter Dillon Klein fueled the Trojan’s offense with a season-high 22 kills and a career-high .700 hitting percentage.

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“It’s just another day in the office,” Klein said in an interview with the Daily Trojan.

Klein attributed a large part of his success in Friday’s match to sophomore setter Caleb Blanchette, who displayed expert decision-making throughout all four sets. Blanchette, who was named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Freshman Team in 2024, looks to already be improving on his excellent freshman campaign. This season, he is averaging 10.5 assists per set — around 1.3 more than last year. 

Blanchette helped lead the Trojans to a season-high .500 hitting percentage against Ohio State. USC has hit at least .300 in every game so far this season, and .389 or higher in its last five outings.

The biggest challenge of the game for USC came in the second set against the Buckeyes, which was tied 14 times before the Trojans pulled it out 29-27. It was an extremely tense, back-and-forth set, and the Trojans trailed by as many as 3 points. With the second set tied at 27, Klein came through in the clutch, ripping back-to-back kills and putting USC up 2-0 in the match.

The Trojans couldn’t capitalize on the momentum of Klein’s heroics, dropping the third set 25-21, but still went on to win the fourth set 25-20 and seal the match. The Trojans were never truly in danger of dropping the match because the Buckeyes had no answers for Klein throughout.

Freshman middle blocker Parker Tomkinson was also a standout, racking up 8 kills and 8 blocks. Outside hitters redshirt sophomore Noah Roberts and freshman Sterling Foley came through in big moments as well, finishing with 8 kills each.

“The guys did a really great job. They came in [and] played at a high level,” Head Coach Jeff Nygaard said.

On Saturday, the Trojans picked up right where they left off, unable to sweep the Nittany Lions but still pulling out the match in four sets. On offense, Klein and Roberts led the Trojans.

For the third consecutive match, USC hit above .450, as another unbelievably efficient offensive performance propelled the Trojans to victory. USC’s .381 hitting percentage is fifth in the nation, only behind Loyola Chicago, Pepperdine, Hawaii and Long Beach State.

“That’s one side of the game that we really showcased at a high level this weekend,” Nygaard said. “We put the ball away so efficiently, there was a ton of pressure on the other team to have to perform.”

In the opening set against Penn State, Klein continued his dominant performance on the road, racking up 6 kills on seven swings. USC battled through a close set to secure a 25-22 win, hitting .536 compared to .407 for Penn State.

Penn State bounced back in the second set and responded with a 25-21 victory, riding a dominant start to the set and clinching it after an untimely service error from Roberts. Although USC stayed close throughout the set, six service errors minimized their chances of winning the set.

The Trojans took back control in both the third and fourth sets, ultimately coming up with enough to overcome the pesky Nittany Lions.  Roberts, Klein and Foley led the Trojans’ offense in both sets. In the fourth set, USC maintained a .500 hitting percentage, while Penn State managed a measly .217 rate.

“There should be a lot of buzz about this team,” Nygaard said. “These guys are high-flying and entertaining and doing some great things. They’re representing USC at a high level.”

After a successful and dominant road trip in the Midwest, the Trojans will head back home to Los Angeles for a match against Dominican University on Saturday at noon. The Trojans will look to stay undefeated and continue their scorchingly efficient play to improve to 9-0.