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This evening, the UCLA women’s volleyball team will wrap up the regular season with a match against crosstown rival Southern Cal. If the Bruins can win, it would be the third win by UCLA over Southern Cal since last Saturday. Football and men’s water polo were the other two wins over the Trojans.
Last Time Out
On Wednesday, UCLA lost their second straight match when Colorado swept the Bruins in three sets at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins are now 2-8 over their last ten matches.
After fighting hard through most of the first set, the Bruins and the Buffs were tied at 18-18. At that point, the Buffs closed out the set with a 7-2 run, winning it 25-20.
The Bruins led the second set early. But, with UCLA leading 7-5, the Buffs went on a 11-2 run and they never looked back. After that run, UCLA could not score consecutive points for the remainder of the set and lost this one, 25-15.
UCLA probably should have been able to win the third set. The Bruins led by four with the score, 19-15, UCLA. But, again, UCLA couldn’t score consecutive points for the rest of the set while Colorado 11 of the final 16 points to close out the set and the match, 26-24.
Southern Cal Trojans
While Southern Cal has lost their last two matches like UCLA, the Trojans have had a much better season than the Bruins. They are currently in a tie for second place in the Pac-12 with Oregon.
When the Bruins met the Trojans to start conference play in mid-September, the Trojans swept the Bruins, 25-12, 25-8, 29-27.
Outlook
UCLA really needs a win today. The Bruins are 13-13 on the season, meaning that a loss will result in the first losing season in the 49-season history of the women’s volleyball program.
At this point, it seems like Michael Sealy has lost this team. The fact that UCLA could finish the regular season 2-9 seems like it will likely keep the Bruins from earning a spot in the postseason. If, by some way, it doesn’t, I still don’t expect a very deep run from this team.
The best thing that could probably happen today is that the team rallies on Senior Day to earn a final home win for outgoing seniors Kyra Rogers and Zana Muno.