| Men’s Volleyball |
|---|
| USC — 1 |
| UCLA — 3 |
The crowd at Pauley Pavilion brought the energy as the No. 1 UCLA Bruins men’s volleyball (16-0, 5-0 MPSF) hosted the crosstown rival No. 5 USC Trojans (8-3, 1-2 MPSF).
With a buzzing crowd and a heated crosstown rivalry, the Bruins took down the Trojans in four sets Friday night, 25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 25-19.
From the start, it was clear the Bruins were ready to bring the energy.
USC served first, but UCLA grabbed the opening point and never let the Trojans get too close. The first set quickly turned into a back and forth battle, with kills from both sides keeping the crowd on their feet.
A long rally midway through the set ended with senior middle blocker Cameron Thorne putting the ball away. Not long after, sophomore outside hitter Sean Kelly stepped up to the service line and delivered an ace to push UCLA ahead 19-16.
Senior outside hitter Zach Rama kept the momentum rolling with another kill, and although USC tried to catch up later on, Rama sealed the set with a powerful final swing to give UCLA the 25-22 win.
The second set was a lot more intense.
The Trojans jumped out to an early 4-1 lead and held onto it for most of the set. The Bruins kept fighting back, eventually tying things at 9-9 before redshirt junior opposite hitter David Decker got a service ace to give UCLA a brief lead.
From there, the teams traded points and had the crowd reacting to every rally. In the end, a Bruins service error handed the Trojans the final point, allowing USC to get away with the set 25-23.
But the second set was the last of USC. UCLA controlled the rest of the match.
The Bruins came out strong. Kelly opened the set with a kill, Decker added another ace and Thorne followed with back to back kills that helped UCLA jump out to a 7-4 lead.
Then things really started to go downhill for the Trojans.
The Bruins went on multiple scoring runs, including a dominant stretch that pushed the lead to double digits. Junior middle blocker Micah Wong Diallo brought the crowd to its feet with a huge kill that made it 19-11, and the Trojans struggled to slow the Bruins down from there.
By the time the set ended 25-15, Pauley Pavilion was buzzing again.
The fourth set kept that same energy going.
After an early Trojan point, the Bruins quickly settled back into rhythm. Thorne ran for a save that allowed Rama to get the kill. Then a block from Wong Diallo and Decker forced a Trojan timeout as the Bruins built a 10-6 lead.
The Trojans tried to chip away late, but the Bruins stayed in control. Kelly kept delivering down the stretch, and senior setter Andrew Rowan ran the offense smoothly all night.
Rama eventually smashed a kill to bring UCLA to match point before Decker ended things with the final swing of the night.
Rama led the Bruins with 19 kills, while Kelly added 17 of his own. Rowan led the offense with 47 assists as UCLA finished with an impressive .416 hitting percentage compared to USC’s .206.
After just defeating the Trojans on Wednesday at Galen Center, the Bruins came back stronger tonight to defeat them once again, securing back to back wins against their rivals.
Next, the Bruins head to Hawaii for the OUTRIGGER Invitational and will play No. 16 Lewis on March 12 at 7 p.m. PST.
