Bruins Drop Home Opener to USC, 3-1

LOS ANGELES – The UCLA women's volleyball team fell to USC, 3-1 (22-25, 21-25, 29-27, 21-25), in its home opener in front of a record-breaking crowd at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Thursday night.
 
7,216 fans attended the Bruins' (6-4, 0-1 Pac-12) first Pac-12 contest of the season, breaking the regular-season program attendance record set just last season (6,623).
 
Middle blocker Anna Dodson led the Bruins with 13 kills at .385 while Iman Ndiaye and Grayce Olson joined her in double figures with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. élan McCall was a kill shy of a double-double with nine kills and 13 digs.
 
USC's (9-3, 1-0 Pac-12) Skylar Fields rattled off a match-high 24 kills in addition to five blocks and five digs. Emilia Weske had a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs.
 
The Trojans opened the match with 17 kills, eight of which came off the swing of Fields, for a team hitting percentage of .438. Six of UCLA's 22 points came via USC service errors.
 
The Bruins struggled in the second with one fewer attack errors (8) than kills (9). Trojan Jordan Wilson and Weske each tallied five kills at a combined .529 clip.
 
UCLA faced match point at 24-23 in the third set when a successful challenge by head coach Michael Sealy kept the set alive, knotting the frame 24-24. The Trojans went to the service line three more times in extra points with match point on the line when back-to-back solo blocks by Matti McKissock and 5-7 defensive specialist Peyton Dueck stole the set, 29-27.
 
McKissock had a team-high 41 assists in the match.
 
Up Next: UCLA hosts No. 18 Washington (9-2) on Sunday at 3 p.m. PT in Pauley Pavilion. The contest can be viewed on ESPNU.