After a commanding sweep against Dominican University New York on Saturday, USC men’s volleyball is gearing up for its toughest test of the season. With two upcoming matches against No. 2 UC Irvine, the No. 5 Trojans will face their highest-ranked opponent of the season.

Heading into Wednesday’s match against Irvine (8-0), USC (9-0) will seek to extend its undefeated start. Coming off a win where they held Dominican to a .101 hitting percentage while hitting a school record .691 and recording a season-high 8 service aces, the Trojans will need to continue this high-level play against an Irvine team that has only lost three sets in its first eight matches of the season.

“We’re definitely going to see a more developed game, a more high-level game. The serves are going to be harder, the hits are going to be harder,” said redshirt sophomore outside hitter Noah Roberts, “Everything’s just going to be elevated.”

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

USC will have to contend with an extremely dangerous Anteater team, headlined by senior outside hitter Hilir Henno. Henno was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year, Big West Player of the Year and a First-Team All-American in 2024.

Leading the team in kills so far this year, Henno is on his way to another great season. Henno sits fourth in the nation in kills per set with 4.19. He also has a history of success against USC, notching 45 kills across two matches against USC last year. The Trojans must craft and execute an effective game plan to stop Henno if they want a chance at beating the Anteaters.

“He’s got a lot of range, there’s a lot of creativity, a lot of vision and IQ,” Head Coach Jeff Nygaard said. “It just means on our side that we just have to be more focused, more present, more ready for whatever he can do, because he can bring a lot of different things.”

Alongside Henno is a formidable Irvine offense bolstered by senior outside hitter Nolan Flexen. Flexen is 1 kill behind Henno for the team lead and sixth in the nation in kills per set with 4.15.

The Anteaters also have freshman middle blocker Micah Goss to round out the team as the team leader in blocks — currently with 35 — and blocks per set — at 1.35, the fifth-highest rate in the nation.

The Trojans will also need to be prepared to face a team that has dominated at the service line. Irvine is second in the nation in service aces per set with 2.63. Limiting the Anteaters’ free points will be necessary for the Trojans to hang around. But even if USC allows zero service aces, it will still face a very tough test against a team that has decisively stifled its opponents this year.

“They’ve had the player of the year on the team. That’s helpful. And they’re big and physical, and they run a clean system,” Nygaard said.

However, USC enters this match with its own arsenal of talent. The Trojans have been strong both defensively and offensively. USC continues to lead the nation in blocks per set with 3.065 and is also fifth in kills per set with 13.32.

Freshman middle blocker Parker Tomkinson has been an integral part of USC’s early success at the net as he sits fourth in blocks per set with 1.370.

Meanwhile, sophomore setter Caleb Blanchette is building another impressive season orchestrating USC’s offense. He sits fourth in assists per set nationally with 10.75.

“[Blanchette] has been doing a really great job this year of spreading out the offense, and his deception has gotten a whole lot better,” said junior outside hitter Dillon Klein.

And, of course, USC will rely heavily on Klein, who is having another incredible season in his third year playing for Nygaard.

Klein leads the team in kills per set and sits third in the NCAA with 4.35 kills per set. After recording 9 kills while hitting a staggering .900 in the first set against Dominican, Klein will be an essential part of defeating a blazing Irvine squad.

“He’s gonna step [up] there, he’s gonna fill those shoes that he’s laid out for himself, and he’s gonna lead us,” Roberts said.

Meanwhile, the Trojans can also depend on Roberts, who has impacted the team in all aspects of the game. He sits second on the team in kills and blocks while also leading the team in digs.

Nygaard and his squad know that if the Trojans are going to pull off an upset win, or two, they can’t just play it safe against the high-flying Anteaters.

“We’d like to challenge our guys and put more service pressure from the line, get a few miles per hour more behind what we’re swinging and take a little bit more risk,” Nygaard said.

The Trojans begin their pair of matches with a Wednesday night match at 6 p.m. at Bren Events Center before returning for their second match Friday night at 7 p.m. at Galen Center.