Match Stats
With the win, UCLA snaps an eight match win-streak for USC
Taylor Formico picked up 22 digs, reaching 1,200 digs during her time at UCLA and 2,000 for her career. Reily Buechler posted a season and match-high 21 kills. Jordan Anderson recorded her first career double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs.
USC libero picked up a career-high 24 digs for the Trojans. Alyse Ford recorded her second career double-double with 11 kills and a career-high 20 digs. This loss marks the first time the Trojans have dropped a conference home opener since 1996.
Check out some highlights from the match
Press Release
Courtesy of UCLA Athletics
LOS ANGELES – Senior Reily Buechler had a season-best and match-high 21 kills to go with nine digs, senior Taylor Formico surpassed the 2,000-career dig mark and senior Jordan Anderson posted her first double-double as a Bruin with 11 kills and 15 digs, as the ninth-ranked Bruins defeated #21 USC in four sets on Wednesday at Galen Center in the Pac-12 Conference opener for both teams.
Formico had 22 digs, her third straight match with at least 20, as she surpassed both the 1,200-dig mark at UCLA and the 2,000-dig mark for her career, the latter of which came on the first rally of the third set. The Bruins (10-1, 1-0) hit .257 for the match, as junior Ryann Chandler (30 assists, eight digs) and freshman Kylie Miller (21 assists, five digs) shared the setting duties. Senior Jennie Frager added 10 kills and four blocks, senior Claire Felix had seven kills, five blocks and four digs, sophomore Zana Muno posted four kills and five blocks and freshman Torrey Van Winden recorded eight kills.
USC (8-4, 0-1) led through the early stages of the opening set, but UCLA came back to take the first. The Trojans scored five of the first six before the Bruins went on a 7-3 run to even things at eight. Buechler and Van Winden each had two kills during the run, while Frager served back-to-back aces. USC’s last lead of the set would be at 12-11, as a 6-2 Bruin run gave the visitors a set-best lead of three. Two Buechler kills, one apiece from Anderson, Felix and Frager and a USC attack error made it 17-14. With the score 23-22, kills by Frager and Felix finished up a 25-22 victory. Buechler led the Bruins with five kills, Felix and Frager each posted four and Anderson and Van Winden both recorded three. USC out-hit UCLA .344 to .341. Formico added eight digs.
The Bruins’ biggest lead of set two was two points at 3-1. Trailing 7-6, USC went on a 12-7 run to go up by a set-best four at 18-14. The Bruins could get no closer than two the rest of the way in dropping the second 25-21. Buechler had four kills, Anderson added three and Formico notched six digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .325 to .231.
The Trojans tallied the first two points of the third before UCLA scored seven of nine to take a 7-4 lead. Four of the points came on blocks, with Felix accounting for three of them, including two solos. The Bruins led for the rest of the set. At 11-10, kills by Buechler and Formico and a Felix/Van Winden block extended the lead to four at 14-10. The Trojans closed to within two at 17-15, but a 6-1 Bruin run on three Buechler kills, one by Muno and two USC attack errors gave UCLA a set-best lead of seven at 23-16. On the Bruins’ second set point, a Van Winden kill wrapped up a 25-20 victory. Buechler had a team-best seven kills in the third, while Frager and Van Winden added three apiece, as the Bruins out-hit the Trojans .455 to .152.
The fourth set was all Bruins until a late run made things interesting. At 5-all, the Bruins scored 11 of the next 13 points to go up by a set-best nine at 16-7. Anderson was a part of three points on two kills and an ace, Muno and Frager both added a kill and a block assist and USC committed four errors. With the Bruins up 19-12, USC rallied, scoring 10 of the next 13 to even the score at 22. After an Anderson kill, two in a row for the Trojans gave the home team set point. The Bruins had two match points at 25-24 and 26-25 before the Trojans earned a second set point at 27-26. However, kills by Anderson and Felix and a USC attack error pushed the Bruins to the 29-27 win. Buechler led UCLA with five kills and four digs in the final stanza, while Anderson added four kills and eight digs. The Bruins out-hit the Trojans .093 to .020. Formico had five digs.
Next up for the Bruins is their home opener against Washington State on Friday at 7 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion. Free audio, video and live stats will be available at UCLABruins.com.
Press Release
Courtesy of USC Athletics
LOS ANGELES — The No. 21-ranked USC women’s volleyball team (8-4, 0-1 Pac-12) dropped a four-set decision (25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 29-27) to No. 9 UCLA (10-1, 1-0) at Galen Center on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The Women of Troy had their eight-match winning streak halted and were turned away by the Bruins for the fourth time in the last five meetings.
USC was led by junior opposite hitter Niki Withers who matched her season high with 13 kills (3e, 30att, .333). The Trojans got 14.0 points from freshman outside hitter Khalia Lanier who posted 12 kills, a service ace, and a solo block to go with nine digs. Sophomore outside hitter Alyse Ford put up her second-career double-double with 11 kills (2e, 26att, .346) and a career-high 20 digs. Ford also had three blocks for 12.5 points.
Junior middle blocker Jordan Dunn had six kills without an error (10att) for a .600 hitting rate and put up five blocks (one solo). Senior middle blocker Elise Ruddins added seven kills (3e, 14att, .286) with three blocks. The Trojans hit .394 on the night and got 25 assists and eight digs from junior setter Reni Meyer-Whalley. Senior setter Alice Pizzasegola added 23 assists and five digs. Defensively, sophomore libero Victoria Garrick had a career-best 24 digs and threw in a pair of service aces.
For the Bruins, Reily Buechler led all players with 21 kills (6e, 55att, .273) and added nine digs. Jordan Anderson had 11 kills (2e, 28att, .321) and 15 digs for a double-double; and Jennie Frager tallied 10 kills (2e, 26att, .308) with four blocks. Taylor Formico led the Bruins with 22 digs. UCLA hit .257 in the match with 63 kills (20e) on 167 swings.
The Trojans rolled out to an early 5-1 lead to open the match, but were caught at eight-all when the Bruins reeled off three straight kills. UCLA went ahead, 14-13, on a kill by Frager and never trailed again despite the Trojans’ push to close the gap to a single point at 23-22 on an ace by Garrick. Frager and Claire Felix had the final two kills of the set to cement a 25-22 win for the Bruins. The second set went back and forth until USC went on top by three at 14-11 on a big kill by Lanier. Back-to-back blocks by Ford and Dunn put the Trojans ahead by four at 18-14 before Withers sealed the 25-21 win with her kill.
It didn’t take long for the Bruins to build a lead in the third frame as they went in front by three at 8-5. USC forced UCLA’s hand and trimmed all but a single point off the lead at 11-10 when Dunn went quick for the kill. The Bruins then went on a 6-2 run to go up by six points at 23-17. Three straight points by the Trojans weren’t nearly enough to stop the Bruin train, which put UCLA on top, 2-1, in the match with a 25-20 win.
Tough serving and a big UCLA block put the Trojans behind the eight ball early in the fourth as the Bruins went ahead by as many as nine points at 17-8. Slowly, but surely, USC chipped away at the lead and caught UCLA for a 22-all tie on a kill by Lanier. The Trojans took the first set point at 24-23 when sophomore middle blocker Madison Murtagh and Ruddins teamed up to reject Buechler, but the Bruins stayed the course and earned back-to-back set points at 25-24 and 26-25. The Trojans had one more push in them and claimed their second set point at 27-26, but UCLA scored the final three points to close the books on the USC comeback at 29-27.
Up next, the Trojans remain home to face No. 4 Washington (10-1, 0-1 Pac-12). The Huskies were at Galen Center last week for the Pac-12 Challenge and left with a perfect 10-0 record, but were upset by rival Washington State, 3-1, earlier tonight. The USC-UW matchup will be shown live on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Los Angeles, and Pac-12 Washington with Anne Marie Anderson and Holly McPeak on the broadcast. Please visit Pac-12.com/now for more information.
For more information on the USC women’s volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. To purchase season and single-match tickets, please visit USCTrojans.com/tickets today. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Periscope, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4HjQ28EoY8?rel=0&showinfo=0]
MATCH NOTES
- USC fell to 56-51 in all-time meetings with UCLA.
- The Women of Troy had their eight-match winning streak snapped.
- The Trojans fell to 31-10 all-time in conference openers and moved to 11-5 in league openers under Mick Haley.
- USC lost a conference home opener for the first time since 1996.
- Sophomore OH Alyse Ford logged her second-career double-double with 11 kills and a career-high 20 digs.
- Junior OPP Niki Withers matched her season high with 13 kills.
- Sophomore L Victoria Garrick had a career high 24 digs.
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