No. 2 UCLA Falls to No. 1 USC in the Final Pac-12 Championship Final

TEMPE, Ariz. -- No. 2 UCLA (32-6) fell in the final Pac-12 Championship final with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of No. 1 ranked and top-seeded USC (33-5) on Friday evening at ASU's Sun Devil Beach Volleyball Facility. The Bruins fell to 21-25 all-time against the Trojans and to 3-3 in the crosstown rivalry this season.

USC scored the first point of the dual on court three when Audrey Nourse and Nicole Nourse defeated UCLA's pair of redshirt freshman Kenzie Brower and junior Jessie Smith, 21-18, 21-16.

The Trojans then went up 2-0 with a second straight three-set thriller on court five for the day where Madison Goellner and Mabyn Thomas outlasted UCLA's duo of redshirt freshman Ensley Alden and junior Natalie Myszkowski, 21-17, 16-21, 15-13.

It all came down to court four again, but this time, USC's pair of Ashley Pater and Grace Seits defeated UCLA's tandem of senior Tessa Van Winkle and graduate student Jaden Whitmarsh 21-17, 21-18, to seal the dual victory.

UP NEXT: The Bruins await their at-large selection and seeding for the NCAA Championship in Gulf Shores, Ala., May 3-5. The NCAA Selection Show is slated for tomorrow, Sunday, April 27 at 8:00 a.m. PT/11:00 a.m. ET on NCAA.com.

NOTES: This marked the seventh time this season and the 27th time overall that UCLA has been involved in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. The Bruins are 11-16 record (.407) in those meetings. Interestingly, UCLA is just 3-10 (.231) as the top-ranked team in those matchups but 8-6 (.571) as the underdog. Already this year, the Bruins are 2-2 against USC when the Trojans are No. 1 and the Bruins are No. 2 and also 1-1 against USC when the Bruins are No. 1 and the Trojans are No. 2. Additionally, No. 1 UCLA also fell once to No. 2 Stanford this year, 3-2. Against USC, the Bruins finished 7-7 in duals played in the Pac-12 Championship and are now 9-10 in all postseason meetings.

No. 1 USC def. No. 2 UCLA, 3-0
Sun Devil Beach Volleyball Facility • Tempe, Ariz.
Friday, April 26, 2024 • 4:00 PM
Records: UCLA (32-6), USC (33-5)
1. Lexy Denaburg/Maggie Boyd (UCLA) vs. Megan Kraft/Delaynie Maple (USC) 21-16, 17-21, 2-0 truncated
2. Devon Newberry/Peri Brennan (UCLA) vs. Maddi Kriz/Madison White (USC) 21-19, 19-21, 3-3 truncated
3. Audrey Nouse/Nicole Nourse (USC) def. Kenzie Brower/Jessie Smith (UCLA) 21-13, 21-11
4. Ashley Pater/Grace Seits (USC) def. Jaden Whitmarsh/Tessa Van Winkle (UCLA) 21-17, 21-18
5. Madison Goellner/Mabyn Thomas (USC) def. Natalie Myszkowski/Ensley Alden (UCLA) 21-17, 16-21, 15-13
Order of finish: 3, 5, 4*