LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Western Michigan volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-16) to 16th-ranked USC on Friday evening at the LMU Invitational in Los Angeles.
 
FINAL SCORE: #16 USC 3, Western Michigan 0
LOCATION: Gersten Pavilion (Los Angeles, Calif.)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (1-8) | #16 USC (6-1)
 
Mary Clare Brusek led the Western Michigan attack with 10 kills, and also notched a season-high five blocks. Leah Richmond just missed out on her second double-double of the tournament after collecting out 24 assists and nine digs. Elana Erickson registered a team-high 10 digs.
 
With the margin at 9-8 in favor of USC early in the first, Western Michigan rattled off four in a row to grab a 12-9 advantage. The Trojans came right back with four of their own to restore their one-point lead, 13-12. The Broncos briefly went back in front, 15-14, but USC then embarked on an 11-3 run to close out the opening stanza.
 
Tied at 7-7 in the second, a three-point spurt put the Trojans in front 10-7. WMU whittled the margin down to one a couple of times, including at 12-11, but a 4-1 run put the deficit at 16-12 for the Brown and Gold. Western Michigan refused to go away, fighting its way back to within one again at 23-22, before the final two points of the frame went to USC, putting it in front 2-0 at the break.
 
The Trojans tallied the first four points of the third set. The margin vacillated between two and four until a three-point spurt pushed USC's edge to 14-8. WMU countered with three in a row of its own to make it 14-11, but a three-point response brought the margin right back to six, 17-11. At 20-14, the Trojans used a final 5-2 push to seal the match.
 
Western Michigan wraps up the LMU Invitational on Saturday afternoon against #19 BYU. First serve between the Broncos and Cougars is slated for 3 pm.