Coming off consecutive wins over No. 6 Brigham Young University, No. 5 USC men’s volleyball is headed to Honolulu to face three ranked opponents at the Outrigger Invitational. USC is flying high on a four-match win streak but will be running the gauntlet in a difficult three-match stretch. 

On Thursday night, USC (13-2, 4-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will face a familiar opponent in No.19 Penn State (5-10, 2-2 Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association), having already beaten the Nittany Lions in a four-set match during the Big Ten Challenge in February. 

It has not been the best season for Penn State. The Nittany Lions are entering the match on a two-match skid and have yet to beat a ranked opponent this year.

However, despite having already dispatched them earlier in the season, the Trojans will have to contend with a talented team at the net. Penn State sits 10th in blocks per set in the nation, largely bolstered by redshirt junior middle blocker Owen Rose, who is ninth nationally in blocks per set. 

“I expect them to be playing free. I mean, you look at the record, and of course they’re gonna come at us. I mean, we’re in a position where every team is going to want to give us their best shot,” said USC Head Coach Jeff Nygaard. 

The next day, USC will face No. 12 Ball State (13-6, 6-3 Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association). The Cardinals enter the match seventh in blocks per set. The strong play of Ball State sophomore middle blocker Braydon Savitski-Lynde and senior middle blocker Vanis Buckholz at the net will be a big challenge the Trojans will need to overcome. 

“They’re big and physical, which means they can play both sides of the net. So we like to say ‘above the net volleyball,’” Nygaard said. “When you have that much elevation and physicality, that means it’s going to be tough to put the ball down around them.”

Saving the toughest match for last, the Trojans will cap off the Outrigger Invitational with a match against a hot No. 3 University of Hawai’i at Mānoa (17-1, 2-0 Big West). With only one loss this year against No. 11 Stanford, Hawai’i will be one of the toughest tests Trojans face this year. 

USC has only faced one higher ranked team, UC Irvine (12-4, 0-2 Big West), and lost both matches against them earlier this year. Now, the Trojans will have the opportunity to prove themselves against another of the top teams in the nation. 

Playing Hawai’i for the first time since their 2019 loss, USC will face a tough matchup against an offense conducted by last year’s Big West Freshman of the Year, sophomore setter Tread Rosenthal, who is currently third in the nation in assists per set with 11.

Hawai’i also poses a challenge defensively, given they are second in the nation in kills per set, third in the nation in blocks per set and sixth in service aces per set. 

This match will bring the opposition of a hostile crowd as the players and Nygaard alike are bracing for a larger-than-usual audience on Hawai’i’s home court. 

“We might be playing in front of 11,000 people, which, in volleyball terms, that’s probably the biggest crowd we’re going to face,” Nygaard said. 

However, the Trojans seem to have what it takes to silence the crowd. USC leads the nation in kills per set with 13.7 and blocks per set with 2.9. 

In the absence of redshirt sophomore outside hitter Noah Roberts, who has not played since Feb. 14 against UC Irvine, freshman outside hitter Sterling Foley and redshirt senior opposite hitter Jack Deuchar have stepped into more prominent roles in USC’s attack. 

Deuchar is second on the team in kills per set and has been a key part of USC’s attack since making his season debut six matches ago. He recorded a season-high 23 kills against BYU (12-6, 2-2 MPSF) in Friday’s match. 

Despite dealing with injuries this year, Deuchar has shown up to be another key part of the Trojans’ offense once again. 

“Jack’s a very clutch volleyball player,” said sophomore setter Caleb Blanchette. “Whenever I give him the ball, he can put it away in any scenario, whether it’s a good set, [a] bad set. And so it’s really cool to have him on the court because he’s a very dynamic player.” 

Meanwhile, Foley is second on the team in kills and has been impressive in his first year of college volleyball. 

“I’m at the point now where I don’t know what his ceiling is going to be because he just continues to improve and get better and do all kinds of great things,” Nygaard said. 

The Trojans can, as always, rely on the consistent play of junior outside hitter Dillon Klein, the team leader in kills and kills per set, and Blanchette, who leads the NCAA in assists per set. They can also count on Klein to be a leader on the court. 

“He’s done a good job keeping the whole team kind of calm, bringing it into the huddle and saying ‘We got this, side out, next ball’ and I think that has really helped me and my mentality,” Foley said. 

USC begins the Outrigger Invitational at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center against Penn State Thursday at 7 p.m.