Saturday, April 19
Los Angeles, CA
5 p.m. PT
UCLA
20-5,10-2MPSF
0
at
3
No. 5 USC
20-6,8-4MPSF
1
2
3
F
UCLA
22
22
22
0
Southern California
25
25
25
3
No. 2 UCLA Drops Regular Season Finale at No. 5 USC
April 19, 2025 | Men's Volleyball
LOS ANGELES – The No. 2 UCLA men's volleyball team fell in three sets at No. 5 USC on Saturday to conclude the MPSF regular season. Set scores on Saturday were 25-22, 25-22, 25-22.
The Bruins (20-5, 10-2 MPSF) hit .338 on the night with Zach Rama pacing the Bruins offense with 18 kills on 28 swings. Cooper Robinson added another nine kills while Sean Kelly contributed five more kills for UCLA on Saturday night.
USC (20-6, 8-4 MPSF) opened up a 9-7 lead before the Bruins battled back. Cameron Thorne added a kill before Sean Kelly tallied a kill to draw the Bruins level at 9-9.
Setter Andrew Rowan then gave UCLA its first lead of the match 11-10.
USC took a 15-12 lead with a 3-0 run as the sides hit the media timeout in the first set.
The Bruins steadily clawed their way back into the set, and Thorne put the Bruins up 19-18 with his first service ace of the match.
USC responded by taking five of the next six points to go up 23-20. The Trojans then took the first set 25-22, and took a 1-0 lead to the second set.
As for the second set, USC raced out to a 11-7 advantage to open the set.
The Bruins chipped away at the Trojan advantage in the second set, and got within one, 19-18, when Rowan recorded UCLA's third service ace of the match.
After a lengthy rally, Robinson recorded his sixth kill of the match to tie the score at 20-20.
USC took three of the next four points to take a 23-21 lead before a Trojan service error made it 23-22.
The Trojans then rattled off two points in a row to take the second set, 25-22, and opened up a 2-0 lead heading into the third set.
In the third set UCLA took the first two points with Thorne at the service line. After that the sides traded points with USC taking a 7-4 lad before UCLA earned four of the next five points to tie it at 8-8.
A Zach Rama kill got the Bruins within two, 16-14, midway through the set, which was followed by a Kahale Clini ripped serve that forced an overpass by USC. Rowan cleaned up the overpass to get the Bruins within one, 16-15.
Unfortunately for UCLA, the Trojans rallied from there and took nine of the next 16 points to take the third set by a score of 25-22, and won the match 3-0.
Up Next: UCLA returns to action on Friday, April 25, in the semifinal round of the MPSF conference tournament at 5 pm PT, hosted by Pepperdine in Malibu, California. The opponent in TBD and the match will be broadcast on B1G+.
The Bruins (20-5, 10-2 MPSF) hit .338 on the night with Zach Rama pacing the Bruins offense with 18 kills on 28 swings. Cooper Robinson added another nine kills while Sean Kelly contributed five more kills for UCLA on Saturday night.
USC (20-6, 8-4 MPSF) opened up a 9-7 lead before the Bruins battled back. Cameron Thorne added a kill before Sean Kelly tallied a kill to draw the Bruins level at 9-9.
Setter Andrew Rowan then gave UCLA its first lead of the match 11-10.
USC took a 15-12 lead with a 3-0 run as the sides hit the media timeout in the first set.
The Bruins steadily clawed their way back into the set, and Thorne put the Bruins up 19-18 with his first service ace of the match.
USC responded by taking five of the next six points to go up 23-20. The Trojans then took the first set 25-22, and took a 1-0 lead to the second set.
As for the second set, USC raced out to a 11-7 advantage to open the set.
The Bruins chipped away at the Trojan advantage in the second set, and got within one, 19-18, when Rowan recorded UCLA's third service ace of the match.
After a lengthy rally, Robinson recorded his sixth kill of the match to tie the score at 20-20.
USC took three of the next four points to take a 23-21 lead before a Trojan service error made it 23-22.
The Trojans then rattled off two points in a row to take the second set, 25-22, and opened up a 2-0 lead heading into the third set.
In the third set UCLA took the first two points with Thorne at the service line. After that the sides traded points with USC taking a 7-4 lad before UCLA earned four of the next five points to tie it at 8-8.
A Zach Rama kill got the Bruins within two, 16-14, midway through the set, which was followed by a Kahale Clini ripped serve that forced an overpass by USC. Rowan cleaned up the overpass to get the Bruins within one, 16-15.
Unfortunately for UCLA, the Trojans rallied from there and took nine of the next 16 points to take the third set by a score of 25-22, and won the match 3-0.
Up Next: UCLA returns to action on Friday, April 25, in the semifinal round of the MPSF conference tournament at 5 pm PT, hosted by Pepperdine in Malibu, California. The opponent in TBD and the match will be broadcast on B1G+.
Team Stats
UCLA
USC
Kills
40
35
Errors
14
9
Attempts
77
61
Hitting %
.338
.426
Points
46.0
51.0
Assists
38
31
Aces
3
7
Blocks
3
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
3
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
OH
/ Men's VolleyballS
/ Men's VolleyballMB
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