With its non-conference schedule over, the Arizona volleyball team opened its Pacific 10 Conference with a split against No. 1 USC and 11th ranked UCLA.

"It was a terrific weekend for us," head coach David Rubio said. "It is disappointing anytime that you lose, but a split against the No. 1 and 11 schools for a young team is a good weekend."

Friday, No. 15 Arizona (6-4 overall, 1-1 Pac-10) came out and took it to the Bruins in a 3-1 (32-30, 30-26, 29-31, 30-23).

Riding high after their first home win against a ranked opponent, Arizona looked to become the first team to defeat the top ranked Trojans (8-0, 2-0)

However, the Wildcats were unable to pull the upset as they fell 0-3 (25-30, 23-30, 29-31).

"USC played great," Rubio said. "They are clearly the best team in the country and they showed that. I am happy that we competed on every point and battled to stay in the match."

Offensively, Arizona struggled, being limited to a .143 hitting percentage.

Due to USC's tough defensive play at the net, Arizona was unable to set its middles effectively. Senior Shannon Torregrosa and freshman Bre Ladd were held to six kills between them from the middle attack, which led to USC shadowing Arizona's outside attack.

"There is no question that we need more production from our middles," Rubio said. "That was one of the differences in the match. USC's middle Katie (Olsovsky) hit over .700 and she put everything away. There was no stopping her. It is just going to take time to develop our middles."

Freshman Kim Glass led the Wildcats once again as she finished with a match high 15 kills, but she said the middles have to become more involved in order to open up UA's offense.

"Our middles are so important," Glass said. "They make our offense more diverse and they are a key part in our offense. They open up our entire offense."

Besides their offensive difficulties in the middle, Arizona stayed close, but USC still held off the Wildcats.

The match was filled with runs, with each team running off eight points in a row during the match.

Rubio said Arizona stayed close, but when USC went on its runs, it was too much for the young Wildcats to overcome.

"I looked on the floor tonight and saw young kids grow up," Rubio said. "To be champions you have to earn it. You can't just want it. USC is at the championship level and that is where we want to be. The race is now on. The bar has been raised by USC and each day we have to get better and try to reach their level."

On the weekend, senior Lisa Rutledge continued her consistency as she finished with 28 kills.

Rutledge said losing is difficult, but Arizona knows what it takes to beat the best.

"I feel that we played really well this weekend," Rutledge said. "Losing sucks, but we know what it is going to take to get better and win against the best teams."

With one weekend down in conference play, Arizona made a statement to the rest of the conference that they can play with the best.

"We played great against UCLA," senior setter Laurie Gardner. "We couldn't come up with the win against the Trojans, but all that matters is that we are improving every time we step on the court. It is all about the end of the year. That is what matters."

Arizona will take on in-state rival Arizona State Friday in Tempe.