No. 21 USC’s latest round of Big Ten matchups at Galen Center culminated in one disappointment and one major triumph for the Trojans.

No. 6 Wisconsin (20-5, 14-2 Big Ten) showed up in a big way Thursday night. The encounter saw a crowd of enthusiastic Badgers fans, whose excitement and volume earned a pre-game acknowledgment over arena loudspeakers and set the tone for the difficult match.

Wisconsin started strong, aiming to add another win to its now five-game win streak. Still, the Trojans (18-8, 10-6) kept things tight, never letting the lead get too far away. The teams held tied scores seven times throughout the set.

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Play paused at 21-15 when freshman outside hitter Jadyn Livings was struck in the face by a rogue serve from Wisconsin. After a few more high-energy, aggressive plays, set one went to the Badgers 25-18. 

Set two also opened in the Badgers’ favor, and they remained in control for the majority of the set. Wisconsin closed the second set out 25-19 to take a commanding two-set-to-none advantage.

The Trojans’ momentum waned further in set three, where Wisconsin established their most substantial leads of the match — at one point pushing 13 points ahead of USC. They took the third set 25-12 to finish their sweep.

Highlights of the match included redshirt freshman middle blocker Leah Ford’s four kills, Livings’ five kills, four digs and service ace, as well as senior setter Mia Tuaniga’s staggering 18 assists, one kill and three digs.

Graduate outside hitter Ally Batenhorst led the team in kills, logging eight along with six digs and a service ace.

Intending to come back from this tough loss, the Trojans set out for a fresh start Sunday. 

Their opponents from up North, the No. 13 Oregon Ducks (19-6, 11-5), showed up to Galen Center on Sunday afternoon hoping to add to their own streak of wins after a sweep against Minnesota. 

The Trojans put up a fight from the opening serve, but the Ducks were able to clinch the first set 25-20.

Much to the delight of the Ducks fans in green and yellow, Oregon remained victorious in set two as well. They won the set 25-16, dominating the struggling Trojans.

The third set started out in the Ducks’ favor, but the Trojans fought hard, not wanting to let Oregon clinch a straight-set victory. USC eventually established a lead about midway through the set before the Ducks evened the score at 16-16.

After several timeouts and riveting back-and-forth plays, the Trojans got hold of the lead once again — winning the set 25-22. 

“Sometimes I believe in momentum, but, being on this team, sometimes I’m like, we really be coming back [like] it’s absolutely nothing,” Tuaniga said. “[We just start] chipping away slowly, even when we’re desperate.”

Emboldened by their third-set win, the Trojans put up a 25-23 victory in the following set to further extend the match. Stellar plays from competitors like Oregon junior outside hitter Mimi Colyer, who boasted a match-high of 23 kills, made this an exceptional challenge.

Forced into a fifth set, the Trojans pushed until they won the set, and the win overall, at 14-16. 

“It felt a lot like Wisconsin, but I just felt like there was air out of the balloon,” Head Coach Brad Keller said in a postgame press conference. “And then we had a nice little speech by one of the athletes in our locker room, [junior middle blocker] Rylie McGinest, we needed it badly. We needed the timing of that.”

The Trojans will next head to West Lafayette, Ind., to play the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and then Seattle, Wash., to take on the Washington Huskies on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m.