USC women’s volleyball had a thirst for vengeance Wednesday when they swept the UCLA Bruins 3-0 in the crosstown rivalry rematch at Galen Center.
When the Trojans last played the unranked Bruins on October 11, the roles were reversed as they lost in three straight sets.
What changed for the Trojans in the last three weeks?
“We went to Pauley Pavilion, and UCLA gave us a really painful gift,” said USC head coach Brad Keller. “We didn’t really understand the field of game – all the little small details that make a good team become a great team. But in that time, the maturity, the poise, the resilience and the patience has really expanded for this group.”
To start the series, the Trojans eked out a 25-23 win after going point-for-point with the Bruins for most of the first set. There were eight lead changes in the race to 25.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay led the attack with five kills, and redshirt junior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina was close behind with four.
After a UCLA service error brought the score to 5-3 Bruins, a dig from senior defensive specialist Gala Trubint turned into a kill – her first of the season.
“It’s so fun playing [UCLA],” said Trubint. “Everyone’s showing up to support. Whether they’re rooting for UCLA or USC, it’s LA volleyball. It’s super fun, especially sweeping them on home court our last time – my last time.”
UCLA junior outside hitter Maggie Li and senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette posed the biggest threat to USC with nine combined kills in the first set, but the Trojan defense responded with three blocks and 16 digs.
After three consecutive kills from USC, UCLA called a timeout. The Bruins came out of the break with a kill from Leverette, but the set ended with a service error.
USC trailed UCLA for much of the second set, at one point being down 15-9, but managed to cinch another 25-23 victory.
Faumuina again led the charge on the front row with five kills. Freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen had four.
Many of Faumuina’s points came from strategically-placed tips that dropped just behind the block or landed cross-court in front of the ten-foot line.
The score was 11-6 in the second set when USC called a timeout after a rally ended in favor of UCLA. After the timeout, senior middle blocker Rylie McGinest had a kill followed by a service ace from senior outside hitter Dani Thomas-Nathan.
A block by Mullen took the game to set point, but the Bruins managed to stay in it with a kill from redshirt junior middle blocker Marianna Singletary. Mullen took it home for the Trojans with a cross-court kill.
The third set saw no reprieve for the Bruins, this time ending 25-20 with zero lead changes.
Though UCLA had a higher hitting and receiving percentage, they ended the match with 11 service errors compared to USC’s six.
Faumuina finished the match with 16 total kills.
“It was just all around a team effort,” said Faumuina. “Taylor and Gala were making big digs, Reese was getting people one one-on-one, and our middles were moving pin to pin. Credit goes to the entire team.”
The match ended with a kill by Wijay on the outside, securing the fifth victory in a row for the Trojans.
The match brought the team to 16-5, 7-4 in the Big Ten.
With nearly 6,000 people in attendance to watch the Battle of LA, the turnout had Keller feeling “very humbled and grateful.”
“The fact that we’re drawing crowds right now tells you that the product is getting better,” said Keller. “The product comes down to people, and I’ve got some great people here.”
The Trojans look to continue their winning streak as they face off against No. 20 Minnesota on Saturday in Minneapolis.