Men’s volleyball sets up for Long Beach
A tall task lies ahead for the No. 11 USC men’s volleyball team this week as they travel to the 18-story high Walter Pyramid Friday for their matchup against No. 4 Long Beach State. The matchup will be the first of two meetings against the Beach for the Trojans, as the two teams will play again at Galen Center Saturday.
Long Beach has historically been a tough matchup for the Trojans, especially as of late, with USC going 2-8 in their last 10 meetings. The Trojans are also in the midst of a slump after losing two games in a row to No. 7 Pepperdine earlier this month. Their losses caused them to slide down from No. 10 to No. 11 in the AVCA rankings.
Long Beach, on the other hand, is coming off of their best win of the season, defeating No. 1 ranked Hawaii in Honolulu last Friday. The Trojans are, decidedly, underdogs. However, there may be an advantage to the Trojans’ underdog status.
“If you go in as a lower seed, you could say there’s a little less pressure,” said Head Coach Jeff Nygaard in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “It’s a little bit of that March Madness Cinderella team that goes in and plays a lot freer, because it’s like, ‘Well, they’re supposed to win so let’s just go in there and turn it loose.’”
The matches will be the final non-conference matches of the season for the Trojans before a gauntlet of six conference games to finish out the season. With the pressure of conference standings out of their mind for a few games, this could be a good opportunity for the Trojans to refine their ability to keep their composure against great teams.
The Trojans will also be 13 days removed from their last match when they square off against Long Beach, a break that they found advantageous.
“We were able to take a look at what we’re doing and knowing this is as a group what we need to do … for the rest of the season so we can set those goals and strive for them,” Nygaard said. “From the players’ standpoint, they got a nice little break and a mental refresh to come back strong.”
The players echoed that sentiment, saying it was a welcomed recovery period.
“It’s been a long season, and we just needed to get our bodies right,” said graduate outside hitter Kevin Kobrine. “Some of our shoulders, knees and hamstrings are just tight, and it was good to just loosen up and recover from that.”
Kobrine is also looking to bounce back after a few games that saw his usual production take a dip. The usually prolific outside hitter is third on the team with 159 kills on the season, an average of about 9.35 kills per match, but has only had 10 kills total in his past two matches. Fortunately, he has not let the decrease in statistical output get him down, instead channeling his focus into constant improvement.
“I look at every game as an opportunity to improve at skills I have been struggling with or skills I am good at currently, so hopefully I can do well, I’ve been working hard,” Kobrine said.
The series against the Beach seems like the prime time for Kobrine to find the hot hand and rack up kills, which would greatly help the Trojans in beating their formidable opponent.
Kobrine is also living in the moment, he said, trying to enjoy his last few games against Southern California schools that he has lots of good memories playing against.
“I know a lot of players on all of the California teams, and I grew up playing with them,” Kobrine said. “So it’s fun to start playing with them when you’re like 14, 15, and now we’re in college playing.”
With such a good series matchup across two iconic venues, the weekend should be enjoyable for everyone.
“We know it’s going to be a fun weekend of volleyball, and that’s what this is supposed to be, is fun,” Nygaard said.
Trojan fans can watch their team take on Long Beach Friday at 7 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid or on ESPN+, and then again Saturday at 7 p.m. at Galen Center and on the USC livestream.