Utah mountaintop a bit too steep for men’s volleyball
Following two more losses that continue the trend of 3-1 defeats at the hands of higher ranked teams, it may seem like the No. 11 USC men’s volleyball team is stuck.
The Trojans did fall to No. 7 BYU twice this past week on Thursday and Friday — with both games ending in that haunting score of 3-1, but all things considered, it may have been one of USC’s best two-game stretches of the season.
USC came into the week knowing they were facing a tall task. BYU has been excellent at taking advantage of their unique home court, where they are 12-0 this season.
“It’s a distinct home court advantage,” Head Coach Jeff Nygaard said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “They’ve got well over four or five thousand [fans] a night … there’s some credence to being at higher altitude, it impacts the way that the ball travels a little bit and when you’re not used to it or you just haven’t learned how to play with that, it gives them an advantage because they’re steeped in it.”
Playing the Cougars on the road has been especially difficult for the Trojans in their history. BYU has beaten the Trojans in Provo, Utah, 27 times in a row.
The two teams may be more evenly matched this year than in the past. The first matchup was tied 1-1 after the Trojans won the second set 25-22, but BYU pulled away for a 25-17 win in the third set. They used the momentum from the big set win for the fourth set, winning 25-20 to clinch a 3-1 win in the match.
In the process, senior middle blocker Lucas Frassrand went down with an injury, causing the reliable starter to be unavailable for the rematch one day later.
Fortunately for the Trojans, redshirt freshman middle blocker Teddy Terrill was ready to step into a starting role and adjusted to the unique conditions of BYU.
“I think Teddy’s own words were, ‘Coach, I’m a gamer,’” Nygaard said. “We know what he’s done in practice, we know what his strengths are, but what we didn’t know was that he is so adaptable. He’s typically a jump server but as we noted, his jump serve was not going to be consistent at altitude, and he out of the blue just invented a brand new serve where he put it in and gave us opportunities to get points.”
Terrill was also energized by the hostile atmosphere rather than apprehensive or wracked with nerves.
“Five thousand people, I mean, it’s a blast out there,” Terrill said. “I love playing in the big crowds, I think it’s super awesome to be a part of, so I’m glad Coach [Nygaard] trusted me and gave me the opportunity to go out there.”
Terrill turned in a solid performance with six kills in the Friday match, the third-highest total on the team.
The Trojan offense was firing on all cylinders in the Friday match. Freshman outside hitter Dillon Klein had 17 kills with a .400 hitting percentage, redshirt junior opposite hitter Simon Gallas contributed 13 kills and junior middle blocker Kyle Paulson contributed six kills on .667 hitting.
“We were sustaining a pretty high level of offensive production tonight,” Nygaard said.
It made for an explosive back-and-forth matchup. After BYU won the first set 25-20 to jump out to a 1-0 lead, the Trojans matched BYU point-for-point in the second set, and they seemed poised to tie the game. But neither team could pull away at the 25-point mark. After more back-and-forth drama, it was the Cougars who eked out a 30-28 victory.
The Trojans did win the next set in incredible, come-from-behind fashion. The Trojans were down 23-20 and then 24-22, both times mere moments away from a sweep. But instead, the Trojans rallied and came from behind for a 26-24 set victory to extend the match.
Unfortunately, BYU was able to pull away in the fourth set and win 25-14, ending the Trojans’ night in a 3-1 loss once again.
It was a frustrating result for a team that could have easily been up 2-1 in the match had only a few points gone differently in the first or second set.
However, this only excites the Trojans if they get to face the Cougars again in the MPSF tournament — which takes place in Stanford, CA, much closer to sea level.
“Obviously I want those guys again,” Terrill said. “They’re definitely a beatable team … especially without 5,000 fans on their side, I think we’d have a pretty good chance of winning.”
Nygaard feels the Trojans can rise to the occasion in the MPSF tournament regardless of who they play.
“Whether it’s BYU or whoever, we feel that we can match up against anyone,” Nygaard said. “We are peaking at the end.”
For now, however, the Trojans are focused on preparing for crosstown rival and No. 2 ranked UCLA. The Trojans and Bruins will square off twice next weekend: Thursday at Pauley Pavilion and Friday at Galen Center. Both games will be shown on Pac-12 Los Angeles.