Fresh off a second-place finish at the Center of Effort Challenge, featuring an upset victory over then-No. 1 Stanford, No. 3 USC beach volleyball seemed well-positioned for its home-closing match against crosstown rival No. 1 UCLA. 

While the Trojans (26-9) had not been able to beat the Bruins (27-4) all year, taking the loss in each of their first three matchups, they were closer than ever in a narrow 3-2 loss in San Luis Obispo on April 11. Undefeated on its home court and celebrating Senior Night, USC seemed to have all the momentum it needed to finally finish the job against its rivals.

Nevertheless, the Trojans were once again unsuccessful in their pursuit of a rivalry victory, falling to the Bruins 4-1 on Thursday. The sting of defeat carried over to the next day, when USC fell to No. 9 Loyola Marymount University (26-10) by an identical score.

Trojans remain winless against the Bruins

Since being paired together, juniors Madison Goellner and Kaileigh Truslow are undefeated at the No. 5 position in three matches. They continued their winning streak against UCLA’s pair of redshirt junior Kenzie Brower and freshman Mallory LaBreche, and have won the past three matches they have played together against the Bruins. 

However, the other USC pairs have been inconsistent against UCLA. Though the Bruins have yet to earn a sweep all year, the Trojans haven’t been able to defeat their crosstown rival despite making adjustments to their pair lineups. 

It was a similar story for USC’s No. 2 and No. 4 pairs: Both dominated the first set, keeping their Bruin opponents under 16 points, but couldn’t maintain their lead and lost out on crucial points down the stretch. 

However, freshman Bella Satterwhite and graduate student Kerry Keefe fought tooth and nail to keep the No. 3 pair of the Bruins at bay. They played an extended first set but fell 31-29. Another attempt at a momentum boost was unable to gain any traction; they barely lost the second 21-19, securing a 4-1 win for UCLA.

Back-to-back losses to finish the regular season

After taking their first loss at home, the Trojans headed just down the road to LMU, looking to pick up one last regular-season win with the MPSF Championship rapidly approaching. Having beat the Lions in every other meeting this season, USC had a prime opportunity to redeem itself after a string of losses.

Freshman Kyra Zaengle and sophomore Calinda Kok received a promotion to the No. 3 pair in this match and were able to secure the win in extended time in the first two sets, 21-23, 22-20, before dominating the third set, 15-9. 

USC’s other pairs, on the other hand, did not fare nearly as well against the Lions. LMU steamrolled much of the Trojans’ roster: The No. 1, 2 and 4 pairs all lost their matches and were held to scores below 19 for every set. 

Goellner and Truslow returned together as the No. 5 pair, going the distance against Lion seniors Katie McAlister and Ellie Davis. Despite coming back from a first-set loss to win the second, the pair couldn’t secure the winner-take-all third set, allowing LMU to clinch the 4-1 victory. 

Heading into the MPSF Championship, the Trojans desperately seek to snap their three-game losing streak and play for their first-ever MPSF title. They will head to Huntington Beach and take on No. 7 UC Berkeley (22-11) at 11:30 a.m. in Wednesday’s first-round matchup.