Across the net from the UCLA women’s volleyball team on Friday was a bigger, stronger and higher-ranked USC team, and after five hard-fought sets the Bruins fell just short of an upset.
UCLA’s 25-20, 21-25, 20-25, 25-20, 13-15 loss at Pauley Pavilion wrapped up the regular-season for UCLA, and was the last regular-season match for the teams’ seniors, outside hitter Dicey McGraw and defensive specialist Amber McBenttez. The match showcased the grit that has been the team’s foundation this year.
After going up 8-5 in the first set, the Bruins (21-8, 11-7 Pac-10) let their lead slip. The Women of Troy built a 15-11 lead, but UCLA chipped away, scoring five straight points to go up 16-15. USC (25-4, 14-4) went up again at 18-17, but never led again as the Bruins scored eight of the last ten set points to win 25-20.
Though they kept it close in the next two sets, UCLA wasn’t able to go on any more comebacks in the second and third. After the Bruins took a 1-0 lead to open the second, the Women of Troy led the rest of the set, and also led the entire third set to take a 2-1 lead.
After dropping two in a row, UCLA got right back in the match. In a fourth set which started with only tied and one-point leads for either team, the Bruins were the first to go up by more than a single point at 15-13. A service ace by junior setter Lauren Van Orden put the Bruins up by five at 21-16, and their lead never dipped below three from there. A kill by sophomore opposite Rachael Kidder gave UCLA its set point.
After UCLA scored the first three points of the fifth set, USC scored three in a row to force a tie. The Bruins re-captured the lead at 7-5, but two Kidder attack errors tied the set again. USC went up two at 13-11, and after McGraw hit a kill to put UCLA within one at 14-13, a kill by USC junior middle blocker Lauren Williams gave the Women of Troy the set and match point.
Sophomore outside hitter Bojana Todorovic set a career-high with her team-leading 21 kills. McGraw added 19, and UCLA hit .225 for the match while USC hit .236.
The Bruins will learn where they are placed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at noon during the NCAA Selection show on ESPNews.