There was something strange in the Pauley Pavilion air on Friday night.
Though the UCLA women’s volleyball team beat Oregon State in four sets, there was a lack of emotion on the court.
“I felt like it was kind of quiet out there,” sophomore opposite Rachael Kidder said. “There weren’t too many moments where it was loud. I just felt like the whole gym was silent. It was really awkward at times.”
After their win over the Beavers Friday, the Bruins swept the Oregon Ducks on Saturday for their first two-win weekend in Pac-10 play this season.
Whatever energy the No. 11 Bruins (15-5, 5-4 Pac-10) lacked on Friday, they regained on Saturday. The Bruins fought with the No. 16 Ducks (16-5, 4-5) in a close first set en route to their 25-23, 25-17, 25-18 win.
After going up 24-20 and being one point away from taking the set, the Bruins let the Ducks score three straight points before UCLA senior outside hitter Dicey McGraw, who led the Bruins in kills for the match with 16, gave UCLA the win with a kill.
In the second, UCLA was able to pull away earlier, and stretched its lead to eight at 18-10. From there, the Bruins’ lead never dipped below six, and junior middle blocker Katie Camp hit the set-clinching kill, giving the Bruins a 25-17 win in a second set in which the Bruins hit .400.
Oregon jumped out to an early lead in the third, but UCLA took the lead for good at 9-8. Leading 16-14, the Bruins scored six straight points, and McGraw sealed the sweep with a set and match-winning kill. UCLA hit .330 for the match, while Oregon hit .191.
UCLA was able to pull away in the second and third because of a team effort.
“Every player, (the) middles, Lauren (Van Orden) had an insane game, she was setting a great offense,” McGraw said. “Lainey (Gera) was passing unreal, everyone was hitting; it was just a great game to have.”
On Friday, UCLA got its first win of the weekend, beating Oregon State 25-13, 25-23, 23-25, 25-14. The Bruins were led by Kidder, whose 23 kills were two shy of the career-high she set in the Bruins’ five-set upset win over then-No. 1 Stanford on Oct. 9.
Kidder struggled at times on Saturday, but was able to forget about her early mistakes, hitting a combined 15 kills in the last two sets.
“I don’t really let past games or even past points affect me,” Kidder said. “I have to get over it right away.”
After its double-digit first-set victory, UCLA held off Oregon State (8-15, 1-8) in a close second set. With a 23-19 Bruin lead, the Beavers scored three straight to get to within one point.
UCLA then scored two of the next three points, and a Kidder kill gave the Bruins the set.
Oregon State got out to a quick lead in the third and stayed ahead most of the set. Up 24-23, the Beavers got the set victory on a UCLA attack error. Oregon State junior outside hitter Dre Shaw led the Beavers with five kills in the third, and hit 13 in the match.
Coach Mike Sealy credited Oregon State and said the Beavers improved in the middle of the match before the Bruins eventually regained control.
“(Oregon State) did a great job, and I can’t take credit away from them,” Sealy said.
“They passed much, much better in sets two and three, ran a much better offense; they were more precise. I think their passing broke down a little bit in set four; we served a little tougher and were able to score points in runs.”
After Oregon State scored the first point of the fourth set, UCLA went on a 9-0 run and never looked back on its way to a 25-14 victory. The Bruins hit .278 for the match, while the Beavers hit .157.