LOS ANGELES – A rivalry as old as 1929 that started on the football field has not only spent countless years marinating, it has become the focal point whenever the UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans face off, no matter the sport. It is a rivalry so deep that it developed into the “Crosstown Cup” in 2001, a year-long competition of head-to-head matchups between the two schools.
Although USC has historically demonstrated the stronger program, winning the Crosstown Cup 14 out of 23 years, could times be changing? The competition between the California powerhouses has leveled out recently, and another example occurred Saturday, when the UCLA women’s volleyball team took down No. 22 USC in straight sets 25-21, 25-22, 25-15 in Pauley Pavilion.
“I mean, it feels great, honestly,” UCLA coach Alfee Reft said. “The rivalry is big and for a lot of our players, it’s their first time in this rivalry, you know, so it’s fun to experience it and the energy around it.”
The Crosstown Cup has often favored the Trojans, who have strung together multiple consecutive winning streaks. USC’s longest domination was from 2007-08 to 2011-12, when it collected five straight Cup titles, while the Bruins have won back-to-back titles just once, from 2016-17 to 2017-18.
The schools have traded titles the past five years. Since the Trojans won last season, it could be the Bruins’ turn to conquer L.A.
“Beat SC” was not only heard, but evident on merchandise throughout a packed Pauley Pavilion Saturday.
“Obviously, with the home crowd, you can’t really go wrong,” said junior Marianna Singletary, who led UCLA with six blocks. “That was a huge attendance record, so it’s awesome to see everyone coming out and supporting our sport.”
The Bruins accomplished a lot Saturday. Not only were they able to knock off their bitter rivals in dominating fashion, but they picked up a Big Ten win (their first overall win at home) with a national TV audience watching.
“It’s a good day when you beat ‘SC at home,” Reft said. “This was a combination of a lot of work from our team. They have been putting in work this last week, certainly felt like we left a lot on the table last time we were home, and it was nice to see us capitalize against a very good USC team.”
Every game means something, and UCLA feels motivated every time it steps onto the court, but the Bruins would be lying if they said there wasn’t extra motivation when they see the Trojans on the other side of the net.
“I feel like it’s so big, everybody knows about it, you know, USC, UCLA, it’s always a big rivalry, always a big game,” Singletary said. “It’s always going to light a little fire under your butt. You want to go a little harder, make those big plays.”
That’s exactly what Singletary and her team did after a slow start, taking complete control halfway through the first set and never looking back.
“We dialed up the serving a little more, and then we just went on runs in the block and defense, which this team can do,” Reft said. “We can score points in big bunches.”
Scoring points in bunches and surviving tight situations led the Bruins to the convincing win. They felt prepared.
“Yesterday, we did this drill, where the whole premise of it was winning in a game and just practicing stepping into moments,” said senior Cheridyn Leverette, who led the Bruins’ offense with 14 kills. “When the pressure’s high, how can we depend on our teammates and just execute when it’s tight? And we were in that situation so much today, so we really just pulled from those feelings and implemented it today.”
For a UCLA team that was deemed the fifth-best Big Ten team in the preseason polls, as well as ranked 18th in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason national poll, the results haven’t met the expectations, as it is currently unranked and sits in ninth place in the Big Ten standings.
Maybe the Bruins are finding their footing.
USC came into Saturday’s matchup ranked 22nd, and after sweeping the Trojans and No. 14 Minnesota last Wednesday, a UCLA team that has struggled to remain in the Top 25 consistently made a strong case to land in the AVCA rankings. The Bruins did just that, coming in at No. 22 in Monday’s ranking. The Trojans fell to No. 25.
Saturday just happened to be “Blue Out x LA Volleyball Day” as well, an event hosted by the UCLA team designed to rally fan support and create a unified visual display of team spirit while also promoting the sport of volleyball in Los Angeles. The Bruins felt the energy and school pride.
“We come up with words a lot before our games, and the word was ‘pride’ today, so just talking about pride in going to UCLA, pride in our four letters, pride in protecting the home court, and then also pride in our touches and how we play volleyball,” Singletary said.
For the UCLA’s women’s volleyball team, “Pride in going to UCLA” must be at an all-time high because for now, the Battle of LA remains in the hands of the Bruins.
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