USC’s last home stand in the Lyon Center was nothing less
than an epic battle.
On Friday, the Women of Troy played their final match in the
Lyon Center, which will now give way to the newly opened Galen
Center across campus. And it was only fitting that the final
showdown was against cross-town rival UCLA.
But the Bruins weren’t about to let the Trojans have the
last laugh. Instead, No. 4 UCLA (21-1, 8-1 Pac-10) spoiled the
party and in doing so put an end to its 11-match losing streak
against No. 5 USC (18-2, 7-2). The Bruins also earned five points
toward the Lexus Gauntlet.
A raucous crowd of 1,595 witnessed the Bruins complete the feat
that hadn’t been accomplished in five years. The small
contingent of about 200 UCLA fans who were sprinkled around the gym
cheered their mightiest to spur the Bruins on to a long-awaited
four-game 25-30, 30-20, 30-24, 30-22 victory.
“Any win is a good win, but winning against ‘SC,
especially with the history and rivalry ““ it’s a good
win for us,” middle blocker Nana Meriwether said.
With the chant of “U-S-C-ya” being yelled throughout
the evening, the Trojans fittingly manhandled the Bruins in Game 1,
appearing to be on the verge of making the night a short one for
UCLA. USC led by as many as 10 points before the Bruins made a late
comeback that fell just five points short.
But by the second set, the Bruins were reenergized and ready to
step up to the plate. And they responded well. Meriwether led the
way in the beginning of Game 2, contributing to four of the first
five Bruin points.
Within the span of six points, Meriwether ““ with help from
Katie Carter and Colby Lyman in the front row ““ stifled the
Trojan offense, putting up three blocks and forcing USC’s
Jessica Gysin to hit around the block and into the antenna.
“Blocking is something we’ve been spending a lot of
time (on) and emphasizing quite a bit,” UCLA coach Andy
Banachowski said. “We got a lot of blocks, got a lot of
touches, and we were able to slow them down. They’re a real
powerful hitting team. Blocking was crucial for us
tonight.”
The Bruins out-blocked USC, 16.5 to 10, led by
Meriwether’s 5.5 (9 block assists and one solo).
“Blocking was very crucial, especially with the hitters
they have,” Lyman said. “The outside hitters are huge,
and we worked all week on getting more than one blocker out there,
two blockers out there. It definitely helped (that) we practiced
like that all week.”
UCLA’s offense opened up as well in Game 2, as the Bruins
hit .500 ““ well above their .174 showing in Game 1. USC was
completely unable to block the Bruin kill attempts in the second
set. Meriwether came up with 19 kills on the night, while Carter
pounded down 17.
“We moved our middles around a little bit more and tried
to get some different matchups than we did in the first
game,” Banachowski said.
Carter attributes the Bruins’ stronger performance to
adaptation and coming together as a group.
“Once we really started fighting for it and realizing it
was do-or-die, then the yelling came. We ended up talking louder
and communicating more. So that helped,” Carter said.
“We got a little more confident. We started talking a lot
more. We just came together. The first game, everyone just kind of
drew a blank on their face, and the second game we were all
together. If we made a mistake, we just shook it off. We were just
really, really playing as a group. I really felt it out
there,” she said.
The tide had already begun to turn. UCLA was in control of the
match, and the USC band and student section dwindled ever so
slightly in their clamor. Members of The Den, as well as other
Bruin faithfuls, could be heard cheering UCLA on with 8-claps and
chants.
“The volleyball guys, softball girls ““ they all do a
good job of supporting us and being here,” Lyman said.
“And it was awesome. We could hear them all the time, so it
was nice.”
With the crowd on their side and the momentum in their favor,
the Bruins had an easy path toward shutting out the game, and
putting an end to the ever-so-long losing streak against USC.