Chants of “Finish them in three” echoed through Pauley Pavilion from the Nittany Lions’ bench.

The third-best team in the nation might’ve anticipated breaking out the brooms Thursday night – but the Bruins ensured the sweep was kept at bay.

Though their efforts for victory fell just short, the Bruins were left tantalizingly close to victory.

UCLA women’s volleyball (9-9, 3-6 Big Ten) fell to No. 3 Penn State (19-1, 9-0) in a nip-and-tuck affair that ended in a 3-2 decision at Pauley Pavilion.

“It was a really great matchup,” said coach Alfee Reft. “There’s a reason they’re the number three team in the country. They play a pretty scrappy game, and I thought our team was toe-to-toe from the neck.”

The Bruins trailed through the first half of the opening frame, but three kills from junior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette ignited a spark among the home team that kept the set one of margins till the Nittany Lions pulled away 25-21.

UCLA eclipsed Penn State by two kills through the set, but eight attack errors left victory out of its reach.

Junior outside/opposite hitter Grayce Olson poured in three kills of her own through the first stanza, barely a fraction of her team-leading 20 kills by the game’s end.

“I try to give a lot of myself to the team,” Olson said. “Getting kills and then coming back and celebrating with the team helps me.”

UCLA started off strong in the second set, leading 11-7. UCLA stretched its lead to 17-11 – largely credited to Olson’s consistent production on the attack. As the set neared its climax, both teams were just five points from each other – UCLA from closing the set and Penn State from evening the score.

The balance ultimately teetered in the host’s favor as Leverette struck one down from the left of the net before sophomore libero Kat Lutz’s unanswerable serve sealed the deal. UCLA took the second set 25-19, limiting Penn State to a .108 hitting percentage.

After the Nittany Lions took the third 25-15, the Bruins battled in the fourth with their backs against the wall.

Graduate student middle blocker Anna Dodson stepped up to keep UCLA’s hopes alive, leading the charge as the Bruins edged ahead 16-14, forcing the Nittany Lions to call a timeout.

Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s regrouping with her team couldn’t push it off the mark as UCLA clinched the fourth frame 25-19.

“I think we were super confident in ourselves – like expecting the win after that, for sure,” Olson said.

The match ultimately rested on a fifth set, a stage that continues to prove the Bruins’ Achilles heel. Five of the Bruins’ last seven matches have gone the distance – and they have dropped all of them.

“Matches like this came down to truly like one run, one footstep and we had it right there in the fifth,” Reft said. “We got to figure out how to not make errors in the fifth set – it’s a short game.”

What began as a 3-2 lead for the Bruins quickly unraveled as the Nittany Lions took command, ultimately securing the set 15-9.

UCLA incurred a six-point deficit in errors over the match – a product of six unforced errors in the final set as Penn State completed a faultless final frame.

When the crowd filed out of Pauley Pavilion, UCLA came within one point of Penn State’s overall kill total and dig total – as well as within two of Penn State’s block total – but it didn’t quite matter.

“We are accepting that it already happened,” said graduate student setter Audrey Pak said. “Like Alfee said, we are proud of our fight, and there’s a lot of room for upgrades, so just have an optimistic mindset and staying hungry for those upgrades.”