UCLA
USC
Bruins #BeatSC in Five-Set Thriller
November 26, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
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LOS ANGELES - Junior Taylor Formico recorded 28 digs, while redshirt sophomore Jessyka Ngauamo (13 kills and 11 digs) and freshman Zana Muno (40 assists and 19 digs) each had double-doubles, as the 13th-ranked Bruins knocked off #1 USC in five sets on Wednesday at Galen Center. Set scores were 25-18, 17-25, 25-19, 12-25, 15-12.
The Bruins improved to 23-6 overall and 14-5 in Pac-12 play, while the Trojans fell to 29-2 and 17-2 in league action. It was the first UCLA victory against a top-ranked team since defeating California in four sets on Sept. 24, 2011 at the John Wooden Center.
Four Bruins were in double figures in kills, as junior Jordan Anderson led the team with 14. Junior Claire Felix had 10 kills in an error-less 15 attempts for a .667 hitting percentage, while sophomore Reily Buechler added 12 kills. Four Bruins were also in double figures in digs, with senior Karly Drolson posting 12. Senior Rachel Inouye added five digs, as UCLA hit .139 for the match.
The Bruins fell behind early at 9-2 before ending the opening set on a 23-9 run to win the first by seven. A Ngauamo kill and block with junior Jennie Frager made it 9-4, and after a sideout, the Bruins scored seven straight on a Ngauamo kill, a Frager/Ngauamo block, a Buechler kill, a USC attack error and then three straight kills by Buechler to go up 11-10. Despite a tie at 11, the Bruins didn't trail for the rest of the set.
At 13-12, five straight on a Felix kill, two in a row by Anderson, a USC attack error and a Muno dump made it 18-12. Leading 22-18, the Bruins scored the last three of the set on a bad Trojan set, an attack error and a Ngauamo ace to win it 25-18. Buechler paced the Bruins with five kills, while Anderson and Ngauamo had four apiece. Formico added six digs, Muno recorded five and Drolson had four, as the Bruins out-hit the Trojans .205 to .054.
The Bruins scored the first point of set two, but the Trojans got the next two, and despite a couple more ties, USC equaled the match heading into intermission. With the score 14-12 Trojans, the home team scored four straight to take a six-point edge. UCLA came back with the next two, but another 3-0 USC run extended its advantage to seven at 21-14, as the Trojans would win the second 25-17. Felix paced the Bruins with three kills, as six different players had a kill, while Formico added five digs. The Bruins were out-hit .323 to .088.
The Bruins trailed just once in the third set. Down 6-5, a 4-1 run on kills by Muno and Felix and two USC attack errors made it 9-7. At 15-12, the Bruins netted four in a row on a Ngauamo ace and three Trojan attack errors. The seven-point lead of 19-12 was the largest of the set for UCLA, which also had a seven-point advantage at 23-16.
A service error at 23-17 gave the Bruins seven set points, and on the third try, another USC service error closed out a 25-19 victory. Again, six different players had a kill in the set for the Bruins, with Anderson leading the way with four. Formico and Muno each had five digs, as the Bruins out-hit the Trojans .242 to .222.
UCLA never led in the fourth, as USC forced a fifth set. The Trojans scored the first three and never saw their lead dip below two for the rest of the set. USC won the fifth 25-12. Anderson and Ngauamo each had three kills in the fourth, while Formico recorded seven digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .250 to .022.
The Bruins won the first two points of set five, lost the next four, but then netted five of the next six on a Ngauamo kill, a Felix/Muno block, a Buechler kill and back-to-back attack errors to go ahead 7-5. UCLA led for the rest of the set. At 12-11, a USC attack error and a Muno kill gave the Bruins three match points, and on attempt number two, a Felix kill wrapped up the 15-12 win. Felix was 3-for-3 in attempts in the fifth, while Formico added five digs, as the Bruins out-hit the Trojans .172 to .115.
The Bruins conclude the regular season on Friday at 8 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion against #6 Stanford. The match will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks and will feature free audio and live stats on UCLABruins.com. Seniors Karly Drolson, Rachel Inouye, Maddy Klineman and Michaela Leonard will be honored prior to the match. Tickets will be just $4 to honor the four Bruin seniors, available at the Pauley ticket office starting at 7 p.m. In addition, the first 200 fans will each receive a UCLA tote bag. Parking on campus is free on Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
