Trojans and Cougars Set for Showdown This Weekend

The No. 4 BYU men’s volleyball team (12-7, 8-6 MPSF) returns home this weekend to host No. 7 USC (10-7, 8-6 MPSF) for a two-match series on Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m. MT. Both teams are involved in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation standings, along with No. 5 Hawai’i.

The Cougars came away as the only undefeated team at the Long Beach State Active Ankle Tournament, posting wins over No. 9 Penn State and St. Francis (PA). BYU is led by AVCA National Player of the Week Andrew Stewart who is averging 3.92 kills per set so far this season.

The Trojans are coming off a series split with Hawai’i on March 8 and 9. They are led by Murphy Troy who averages 4.43 kills per set. USC last visited Provo in May when BYU hosted the 2009 NCAA National Championships. Bill Ferguson’s team suffered a 3-2 loss to UC Irvine in the final match.

Series Info

The Cougars recorded 14 consecutive wins over the Trojans before dropping two matches in 2009. Previous to last season, the last time USC topped BYU was in February of 2001 on the Trojans’ home floor. Overall, the Cougars lead the series 24-9 and 13-4 in Provo. The last time BYU lost to USC at home was in January of 1996.

Match coverage

Both matches will be broadcast live on BYU-TV. Fans may watch a live stream at www.byu.tv. Play-by-play will be provided by Robbie Bullough, with Steve Vail lending color analysis.

Live stats are available at the BYU men’s volleyball schedule page at www.byucougars.com. Gametracker can be launched by clicking on the “Live Stats” link for the appropriate game on the schedule.

Coming Off...

BYU is coming off an undefeated weekend at the Long Beach State Active Ankle Tournament, posting four-set wins over No. 9 Penn State and St. Francis (PA). Senior outside hitter Andrew Stewart combined for 35 kills on the weekend, extending his double-digit kill streak to 15 matches and totaling 1,023 career kills.