No. 1 UCLA Beats No. 5 USC in Four Sets, 3-1

Friday, March 6

7:00 pm (PT)

UCLA

16-0,5-0MPSF

No. 5 USC

8-3,1-2MPSF

Southern California

UCLA

Photo by: Ross Turteltaub

No. 1 UCLA Beats No. 5 USC in Four Sets, 3-1

March 06, 2026 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

LOS ANGELES – The No. 1 UCLA men's volleyball program earned a four-set win over No. 5 USC inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial on Friday evening. Set scores were 25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 25-19.

With the win UCLA improves to 16-0 to begin the 2026 season. That 16-0 start is the best start in program history since 1998, when the Bruins also went 16-0.

Three Bruins finished in double digits in scoring on Friday night. Zach Rama finished with 19 kills on 39 swings, hitting .436. Sean Kelly added 17 kills and six digs, while David Decker recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs on the day.

As a team, the Bruins hit .416, and setter Andrew Rowan dished out 47 assists on the night. UCLA tallied nine blocks with Micah Wong Diallo totaling six block assists.

In the first set, the Bruins and Trojans went back and forth through the opening 10 points, as neither side claimed more than a one-point lead. That changed after kills from Thorne and Kelly pushed the Bruins in front 13-11.

The Bruins extended the lead to 19-16 when Decker served an ace. Rama then hammered home a kill to push the advantage to 20-16 after a Trojan timeout.

Kills from Thorne and Kelly earned the Bruins the opening set, 25-19, as the Bruins hit .433 in the opening set.

As for the second set, USC clawed their way back with a 25-23 win in the second set, evening the score at 1-1 heading into the third set.

The Bruins opened the third on fire, going up 9-4 after a 3-0 run. During that run Thorne, Rama and Decker all tallied kills of assists from Rowan.

Another 4-0 Bruin run made it 21-11 UCLA as the Bruins kept their foot on the gas. During that 4-0 run Kelly recorded two kills, Wong Diallo added another, and Rowan and Wong Diallo combined for the block to make it 21-11.

The Bruins took the set 25-15 after Rama recorded UCLA's seventh ace of the night.

With a two sets to one advantage, the Bruins started the fourth set up 4-1 courtesy of another Decker ace. The redshirt junior finished with a game-high three aces on the night.

A kill from Kelly, followed by an ace from Rowan, pushed the Bruins in front 18-11. A block by Rowan and Wong Diallo increased the lead to 24-18, before a kill from Decker clinched the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.

Up Next: UCLA returns to action on Thursday evening against Lewis in Honolulu, Hawai'i in the first match of the OUTRIGGER Invitational hosted by Hawai'i. First serve is set for 4 pm HT (7 pm PT).