No. 24 USC Women's Volleyball Falls to UCLA in Narrow Five-Set Loss

Friday, November 24

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:00 PM

USC

18-12,12-8Pac-12

UCLA

18-12,10-10Pac-12

UCLA

Southern California

Photo by: Katie Chin

No. 24 USC Women's Volleyball Falls to UCLA in Narrow Five-Set Loss

November 24, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Highlights

The Women of Troy finish fifth in the Pac-12 standings after a long-distance loss to the Bruins on Senior Night

LOS ANGELES – The 24th-ranked USC women's volleyball team (18-12, 12-8 Pac-12) dropped a five-set decision (20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 24-26, 15-13) to crosstown rival UCLA (18-12, 10-10) on Senior Night at Galen Center on Friday, Nov. 24.

KEY PLAYERS

Sr. OH Skylar Fields led the Trojans with 21 kills (6e, 55att, .273) to go with seven digs and two blocks. It was her 57th time in double-digit kills as a Trojan; her 36th time with 20 or more kills in a match. It was also her 11th straight match over 20 kills; and she now has 1,184 kills at USC and 2,110 in her career.
So. MB Tyrah Ariail put up 13 kills (4e, 25att) and hit .360 to go with four blocks (one solo) and a service ace.
Jr. S Mia Tuaniga dished out 51 assists to go with nine digs, four kills, four blocks, and three service aces. Her 111-career service aces now rank seventh all-time in school history.
Fr. OH London Wijay recorded 11 kills (5e, 34att, .176) and had five digs, two blocks, and a service ace.
Sr. MB Lindsey Miller had eight kills (0e, 11att) to hit .727 and led the Trojans with six blocks.
So. LIB Gala Trubint put up 21 digs with three assists and two service aces. It was her 46th-career match in double-digit digs and her 14th time over the 20-dig mark.
For the Bruins, Iman Ndiaye led with 21 kills on .312 hitting. Anna Dodson had 10 kills and five blocks (one solo). Desiree Becker led all players with nine blocks (one solo) and added nine kills. Audrey Pak put up 51 assists with 10 digs for the double-double and added five blocks, five kills, and four service aces.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Trojans hit .370 in the opening frame and got four kills from Ariail and three apiece from Kalyah Williams and Fields to close out a 25-20 win. USC out-blocked UCLA, 3-1, in set one to outpace the Bruin attack, which finished at .281.
Ariail and Wijay each had five kills in set two, but UCLA had 19 digs and six blocks in the frame to hold the Trojans to a .154 hitting rate and evened the match with a 25-21 win.
Fields added five more kills in the third set, but the Bruins came up with another 25-21 win to go on top, 2-1, with four blocks and five kills from Becker with four more from Ndiaye.
Fields was unstoppable in the fourth set and finished with her 11th-career double-digit kills set with 11 kills to pace the Trojans to a 26-24 win. Miller added four kills in the set and the Trojans got 17 digs to send the match to set five.
USC hit .389 in the fifth but was still outdone by the Bruins' .400 outing. Facing an 11-8 deficit, the Bruins went in front for good with a 4-0 run that included three straight aces from Pak. The Women of Troy tied the score once more at 13-all, but UCLA sealed the win, 15-13, to take the match.

UP NEXT

The Women of Troy now await their postseason fate and seek selection into the program's 39th all-time NCAA tournament appearance. The NCAA will air its selection show on Sunday, Nov. 26, at 3 p.m. PT on ESPN.

MATCH NOTES

USC go to 64-58 all-time against UCLA including 24-25 at home; and have a four-match win streak over UCLA halted.
The Trojans suffered just their second home loss of the season and fall to 11-2 at Galen Center.
USC matched its school-record (set in 2019) with an 11th five-set match in a single season. The Trojans fell to 6-5 in five-setters this season (5-4 against Pac-12 opponents) and fall to 152-108 all-time in five-set matches; 62-40 at home.
Against UCLA, the Trojans go to 23-14 all-time in five-set matches and to 7-7 at home. It is the sixth time that the Trojans and Bruins have played two (or more) five-set matches in the same season and only the first time since 1994.

For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, X, and Instagram.