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UCLA women’s volleyball succumbs to crosstown rival USC in five-set match

Freshman outside hitter Kiki Horne tips a ball at the Galen Center. Horne led the match with a career-high 17 kills against USC on Sunday. (Zimo Li/Photo editor)

Women's Volleyball


UCLA2
No. 16 USC3

By Chloe Agas

Oct. 14, 2024 11:57 a.m.

This post was updated Oct. 16 at 12:46 a.m.

The crosstown rivals teetered for control like a seesaw.

Just as one end begins to rise, the other one lowers – ultimately, the ends seem to switch sides.

On Sunday at Galen Center, it was one point to UCLA women’s volleyball (8-7, 2-4, Big Ten) and one to No. 16 USC (12-4, 4-2) before the latter managed a five-set victory in front of 7,303 people – setting an attendance record for the Trojans’ program.

With junior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette – who has already contributed 204 kills this season – out of the starting lineup, coach Alfee Reft’s starting seven presented a mix of new and experienced prowess, including redshirt freshman middle blocker Brooklyn Briscoe.

However, the Bruins struggled to gain control in the first frame, limited to a .000 hitting percentage – the lowest out of the 15 matches the team has played all season. The Trojans led with a nine-point lead alongside 11 kills and six blocks.

Outside hitter Kiki Horne led the match in kills, reaching a single-game career-high of 17 on a .415 kill percentage. The freshman has contributed 160 kills through 15 matches this season.

“It was a big stage for us to compete on,” Horne said. “We came out and did that. I wouldn’t rather do it with any other team.”

Points began to rack up as the Bruins’ attacking force arrived in full swing. Contributions on the net from Horne, Leverette, Briscoe and graduate middle blocker Anna Dodson added 12 points in the team’s set two victory.

The Bruins regained control with a .226 hitting percentage and brought USC back down to .100 for the frame.

Horne wouldn’t be the only freshman to etch her name on the leaderboard. Within the Bruins’ offense, Briscoe reached a .750 clip in the second set, collecting three kills on five swings.

“There were a lot of great glimpses of us playing together and making things work,” Briscoe said. “We have so much more left in the tank going forward – it’s exciting that we have more time to work all these things out.”

It would ultimately be defensive specialist Kat Lutz’s service ace that grounded another set victory in the third. USC and UCLA were deadlocked on the scoreboard 12 times throughout the duel, with Leverette contributing seven kills for the Bruins on the leaderboard.

At the peak of the fourth set, the Bruins propelled to 21-16 from a 15-6 deficit, inching just four points away from a four-set victory.

The hosts avoided a result that would have let down its record-setting crowd, though regaining control at the end of the fourth at 25-21.

“We did really good at staying as a team at the end and coming back with all that momentum,” Horne said. “Audrey was getting great blocks at the end, and people were still swinging – our team stuck together and still stayed aggressive.”

Despite an early lead in the fifth and final set, the Bruins struggled to maintain control as a kill from USC outside hitter Ally Batenhorst and an ace from libero Gala Trubint tipped the seesaw to the Trojans’ edge.

In the end, the Bruins succumbed to a .138 hitting percentage overall – the team’s lowest all season – and a loss to its longtime rival.

“We got to get back to the gym and keep working,” Reft said. “It’s a tough loss, but this is a tough conference, and we got to keep going.”

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Chloe Agas
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