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UCLA
USC
#13 UCLA Falls to #3 USC
September 24, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
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LOS ANGELES - The 13th-ranked Bruins saw their eight-match winning streak come to an end on Wednesday night in front of a packed Pauley Pavilion crowd of 4,441, as #3 USC led wire-to-wire in a sweep of UCLA. Set scores were 25-22, 25-12, 25-19.
The Bruins fall to 9-2 and the Trojans improve to 13-0 in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
Freshman Zana Muno was a dig shy of a double-double with 17 assists and nine digs. Redshirt junior Haley Lawless and junior Jordan Anderson each posted seven kills, while junior Claire Felix and sophomore Reily Buechler added six apiece. Junior Taylor Formico recorded eight digs, Buechler added six and senior Karly Drolson had five. Junior Jennie Frager posted five blocks. The Bruins hit just .056 in the match.
The Trojans never trailed in set one, but not without some tense moments at the end. Even at two, USC scored seven in a row to take a 9-2 lead. The Trojans' largest lead was nine at 14-5 and 16-7 before the Bruins climbed back into it.
Down 19-12, the Bruins scored five in a row on a USC service error, an Anderson kill, a Trojan attack error and back-to-back blocks, first a solo from Frager and then a Frager combo with Muno, to make it 19-17. However, two was as close as the Bruins would get for the remainder of the set, as the Trojans took the opener 25-22. Buechler led UCLA with three kills in the first, as UCLA was out-hit .297 to .125.
Like the first set, there was just one tie in the second at 1-1. USC raced out to a 6-2 lead and never saw its advantage dip below two for the rest of the set. The Trojans won the set 25-12. Lawless had three kills to pace the Bruins, who were out-hit .300 to -.049.
In the third, the Trojans jumped out to leads of 5-1 and 14-5. UCLA would rally with five in a row on kills by Lawless and Buechler, a Frager solo block and two USC attack errors to cut its deficit to 14-10, but would get no closer than three the rest of the way. The Trojans finished the sweep with a 25-19 victory. Anderson and Felix each recorded three kills, as the Bruins were out-hit .206 to .114.
Next up for the Bruins is a trip to Berkeley to take on California on Sunday at 12 p.m. The match will air on Pac-12 Networks Los Angeles.
