The beginning was promising. A record-breaking attendance of 2,102 fans. A shining spotlight on the riveting rivalry. An expectation of a close face-off between two highly ranked teams. 

However, what was anticipated to be a memorable showdown quickly turned into a disappointing night for Trojan fans.

The No. 11 Trojans (10-8, 2-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) held their own against the No. 4 Bruins (14-4, 5-1) during the first set. 

The team initially responded well to UCLA’s early plays. A few solid kills by redshirt junior opposite hitter Jack Deuchar and sophomore outside hitter Dillon Klein gave USC a fighting chance. 

While the Bruins maintained the lead, the Trojans dutifully chipped away at the score gap. But despite USC’s efforts, it could not claw back from the deficit, and UCLA handed it their first set loss, 25-20.

“We were ready for it, then they made a number of high-level plays,” said Head Coach Jeff Nygaard in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “We didn’t recover.”

The second set highlighted critical errors in the Trojans’ game. UCLA went on an 8-0 scoring run early in the set, extending its lead from a tight 5-4 to a cavernous 13-4. The Bruins put the ball in wide-open spots on the court, exposing USC’s defensive struggles.

USC fell apart, unable to find the weak links in the mountainous wall of blue. The team found itself constantly rejected at the net and stumbling to rectify its second chances with a total of six attack errors. Several of USC’s points came not from its own opportunities but, rather, the Bruins’ service errors. 

During the second set, UCLA had a sky-high 0.824 hitting percentage, while USC recorded a lackluster -0.111.

“They were playing well, and we just let that get in our heads,” said senior middle blocker Kyle Paulson. “We didn’t respond how we should have.”

It seemed unlikely that USC would break double digits in points, but Deuchar’s kill, along with a few Bruin service errors, led the Trojans to 10 points. 

UCLA’s set-winning point was heartbreaking for USC as Deuchar unexpectedly kept the ball in play with a remarkable dive out of bounds. Yet the rest of the team — rooted to the floor — made no move to follow up on his efforts to keep the set alive, as the ball bounced definitively to seal the second set. The 25-10 loss is the team’s largest set loss and deficit in its entire season.

“Our response wasn’t our ideal competitive mindset,” Nygaard said. 

Dejection followed the Trojans into the third set. While the team utilized timeouts to smooth the wrinkles of momentum, it was still plagued with errors. Serve receiving gave USC some trouble, as UCLA’s heavy-handed serving led to overpassing from the back row. The Trojans could only watch as Bruin middle blockers swung straight down again and again. UCLA ran away with the third set, 25-14.

The Trojans lacked chemistry, looking less united as the game progressed. 

“That’s just the pinnacle of a team, bringing it all together,” Paulson said. “Not staying as one, not on our own island.”

The Trojans returned to Pauley Pavilion two days later, on Saturday. While USC was able to avoid getting swept in straight sets again, UCLA exerted its dominance yet again. The Trojans took the match’s second set but fell again to its bitter rival, 3-1.

The Trojans look to bounce back Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Penn State at Galen Center.