Friday, March 29

Women’s volleyball splits road matches against Colorado, ends win streak


Playing in all eight sets on the weekend in Boulder, junior defensive specialist/libero Zoe Fleck notched 36 total digs as then-No. 12 UCLA women's volleyball split its matches with Colorado. (Ella Barnes/Daily Bruin)


Women's Volleyball


Then-No. 12 UCLA3
Colorado1
Then-No. 12 UCLA1
Colorado3

The Bruins wound up on the wrong end of a broken streak.

Playing in Boulder, then-No. 12 UCLA women’s volleyball (10-4) split its weekend outing against unranked Colorado (5-7), capturing Friday’s contest before falling after four sets Sunday. The loss put an end to the Bruins’ five-game winning streak – their longest of the season – and snapped the Buffaloes’ seven-game skid.

UCLA found itself at the returning and receiving end of multiple other 7-1 runs over the weekend. Friday’s win alone featured three such sequences in three different sets, while both teams came out with their own seven-point onslaughts in Sunday’s opening frame.

Junior defensive specialist/libero Zoe Fleck said the Bruins’ streaky play oftentimes mirrored their opponent’s.

“(Colorado’s) a really good serving team and they’re a really good passing team,” Fleck said. “I thought we did an OK job at it in certain moments. Other times we struggled a little bit and pretty much the same with Colorado. Both teams went on some runs.”

It wasn’t all runs to begin with, as Friday’s opening set featured seven ties by the halfway mark following a service error by Fleck. After starting off slow, however, UCLA closed off with a 13-5 stretch with two aces and four kills along with six errors from Colorado.

The Bruins led by as many as seven points at 15-8 in the second frame and never trailed for most of the set, but a late 7-1 run helped the Buffaloes take their first lead at 23-22 before Colorado eventually completed the comeback. UCLA then fought back to clinch the next two sets 25-19, 25-19, along with securing the match.

Colorado elected to play a 6-2 offense after dropping the first set and committed Brynna DeLuzio and Jenna Ewert to the setter position. From that point onward, Colorado had a .250 hitting percentage after starting the game at .062.

UCLA coach Michael Sealy said his opponent’s new offensive strategy put pressure on his defense, as they gave up 20 kills in the second set loss.

“A 5-1’s easier to defend because at times you only have two hitters,” Sealy said. “In general, (Colorado’s) 6-2 just helps them with their personnel right now.”

Colorado’s switch may have eventually paid dividends on Sunday. The Bruins opened with a 16-7 lead – their largest of the game – before coughing up seven straight points to the Buffaloes. Colorado then snatched its first lead at set point and fended off an extra point battle from UCLA to capture set one, 27-25.

“Those runs killed us,” Sealy said. “You look at set one, you’re up eight points but then you can’t finish so you get stuck in rotation.”

The Bruins were unable to match the Buffaloes for the rest of the match, as they were outperformed in kills, aces, blocks and assists as the momentum shifted to Colorado. Senior opposite/outside hitter Mac May – second in the Pac-12 in total kills and kills per set – finished with a season-low seven kills.

Sealy said that his team’s style of play generally allows room for error but not on Sunday.

“Those last couple games were off,” Sealy said. “Normally, we can be off in two or three skills and the other ones that are intact can save us. I think every facet of our game was off today.”

Despite being the fourth-highest AVCA ranked team in the Pac-12, the Bruins are currently slotted at fifth in the conference standings.

After her team’s second loss to unranked competition on the season, Fleck said this high level of play is to be expected.

“Being in the Pac-12, you don’t ever have a single easy night,” Fleck said. “You have to fight for every single point that you win. Even if you’re playing the bottom teams in the Pac-12, they can still beat you if they’re having a good night.”

UCLA will next face off against No. 9 Utah – the winningest team in the Pac-12 this season– on Friday afternoon.

Daily Bruin senior staff

Palmero is a senior staff writer for Sports. He served as the assistant Sports editor on the softball, beach volleyball, women's volleyball, men's volleyball and men's golf beats from 2021-2022 and a Sports reporter on the beach volleyball and women's volleyball beats in 2021. He is a third-year mathematics and economics student.


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