After getting swept by its crosstown rivals Oct. 11, No. 22 USC women’s volleyball was out for blood in its revenge bid at Galen Center on Wednesday. To make up for their lack of defense, the Trojans attacked early and often, giving the unranked Bruins what USC Head Coach Brad Keller described as a “really painful gift,” dominating with a clean sweep of their own.

“They kind of owned us at Pauley Pavilion [for] three straight, and I didn’t think we were really close, honestly. I thought we were making a lot of immature mistakes,” Keller said in a postgame news conference. “I’m very proud tonight. … The patience has really expanded for this group, and I think they’re starting to feel it, and they’re starting to see the fruits of the labor that they’ve put into this.”

The aggressive Trojan (16-5, 7-4 Big Ten) attack left the Bruins (12-9, 6-5) no moments to breathe between kills from USC’s front line, earning nine more total kills than UCLA, despite the Bruins being more accurate with a 0.302 rate to rival USC’s 0.285. 

The Bruins struggled with controlling the force behind their hits, mostly manifesting in their 10 total attack errors. Their excessive power forced them to pull back, opening the door for freshman setter Reese Messer to tee up her Trojan teammates with ease.

Though USC and UCLA nearly went dig for dig throughout the three sets at 46 and 45 respectively, the Bruins’ work at the net and on the lines paled in comparison to the Trojans’ at four blue-and-gold blocks to 6.5 cardinal and gold.

Mirroring their first match of the season, neither team took control early: They tied nine times before USC secured an incredibly tight 25-23 set win, thanks in large part to a late run of three kills sent from Messer and sunk by freshman opposite hitter Abigail Mullen and redshirt sophomore outside hitter London Wijay.

Messer’s consistency fueled the fired-up offense — which was almost too eager after firing nine attack errors in the first match alone — offering a staggering 42 assists throughout the night and even adding both a kill and a block during her time at the net.

The second set ended on yet another 25-23 score as both teams were not only fighting each other but themselves, combining for nine total attack errors and seven service errors — meaning one third of the 48 total points in the game came from errors as opposed to clean shots. 

Mullen, redshirt junior outside hitter Adonia Faumuina and sophomore middle blocker Mia Tvrdy — USC’s three kill leaders for the set — continued to dominate the offense with 12 total kills between them. 

Though their aggressive tactics paid off in the end, the Trojans ultimately secured the set with their fluid interactions before sending the ball back to the Bruins. Players on the backend during the second set, like Wijay and freshman libero Taylor Deckert, who had the second-most digs of the night after Messer, kept rallies alive.

“It was just, all around, a total team effort,” Faumuina said in a postgame news conference. “Taylor and [senior libero Gala Trubint] were making big digs. Reese was getting people one-on-one, and our middles were moving pin to pin. Credit goes to the entire team.”

The third set showed that. Despite tucking the previous two sets under their belt, the Trojans would have to work for a clean sweep against their rivals. The teams traded points back and forth for almost the entire set with a pivotal kill from Messer off a set from Trubint changing the tide at 21-17.

Tired after the taxing trade, the Trojans gave up two points in a row before getting in a 4-1 groove, securing the last set for a clean sweep.

The win against the Bruins marks the Trojans’ fifth-straight win, tying the season’s longest streak. 

“The upperclassmen [are] the reason why we are in the position we are,” Keller said. “They’re guiding and leading this team, and they’re doing it in very subtle ways, and it’s very methodical — it’s very positive, and it’s very consistent.”

The Trojans are aiming to use this win as fuel for their upcoming, pivotal match against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-5, 7-4) at Maturi Pavilion at 8 p.m. on Nov. 1. 

“Yes, this is a rivalry, and we should be motivated by that, but at the end of the day, it’s just another game. It’s another opponent,” Trubint said. “The win is worth the same amount as a win against another team.”