This post was updated Oct. 30 at 10:15 p.m.
Over 5,000 USC fans chanted “U-S-C” during the first rally of the game, their voices booming through the stands.
The crowd rallied behind the Trojans and heckled the Bruins for the remainder of the two-hour contest.
The rowdy crowd stamped its impact on the match, helping UCLA women’s volleyball (12-9, 6-5 Big Ten) rack up 11 service errors in its loss to No. 22 USC (16-5, 7-4) in straight sets Wednesday night at the Galen Center. The Bruins have been swept in three of their last five matches and four times total this season.
“It’s execution from a lot of areas,” said coach Alfee Reft. “It’s a serve or two that we can handle in a better position. It’s a connection, and so collectively, we have to be a little sharper as a whole, and we just can’t leave the room for teams to sneak in – whether it’s blatant errors where we’re giving points away or just misconnects. We have to find a way to level up a little bit when we get into those parts of the game.”
The Bruins seemed as if they were trying to play catch-up with the Trojans from the beginning of the match, despite eight lead changes and nine ties throughout the first set.
UCLA has become acclimated with road crowd noise this season, with 16 of its 21 matches taking place outside of Westwood. But just 14 miles down the freeway, the noise was too loud. The Bruins’ 11 service errors – their first time reaching double-digit blunders since falling to Purdue on Oct. 2 – came in contrast to the Trojans’ six.
“We just did a lot of things that were uncharacteristic of us,” said senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette. “A lot of touches that we normally make, a lot of things that normally connect, just weren’t connecting. And the best teams learn how to win when it’s ugly, so we’ll definitely take that as a lesson.”
USC outhit UCLA 51-42, but the outside hitting duo of junior Maggie Li and Leverette – one of the team’s lone bright spots – posted a combined 22 kills.
Ultimately, though, the rowdy crowd saw the Bruins increasingly struggle as the match progressed.
“There was a lot of moments where we felt like we were in control, and then in the middle of the set it fell away from us, and we were right there,” said sophomore setter Kate Duffey.
Maintaining consistency is key to winning a volleyball match, and that starts with the back row’s defensive responsibility. Although the Bruins’ defense has generally remained consistent all season, it seemed the Trojans pierced the shield.
UCLA tied its second-lowest blocking total of the year with just four stuffs. And the Trojans were able to capitalize off that, taunting the Bruins’ backline defensive rotation with powerful hits and causing Duffey to rush to make the set out of system.
“We had our hands on a lot of things – just weren’t able to turn them into quality touches where we got swings,” Reft said. “It’s just key moments we have to be able to execute through volume.”
Having officially kicked off the second half of conference play, the Bruins – ranked No. 32 in RPI – must maintain their place to secure a postseason spot. With 64 squads making up the postseason bracket, UCLA is currently on the inside, but that could change if the squad makes its Wednesday night defeat a trend.
The Bruins will have the opportunity to make their own noise at home when they face Washington at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday.
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