The Bruins managed to break out of their three-game losing streak.
UCLA women’s volleyball (10-7, 2-5 Pac-12) swept its first contest against California (12-6, 1-6) on Friday night with a healthy Bruin squad. After five losses in their past six Pac-12 games, the Bruins managed to put an end to the rough run of form.
UCLA suffered three consecutive losses in those six games against Utah, Arizona and Arizona State and has picked up just one win against a ranked opponent since the start of the Pac-12 season.
Coach Alfee Reft said the Bruins now boast a healthy roster after dealing with injuries the past few games.
“We have all hands on deck,” Reft said. “It’s nice that we are playing at full strength this week.”
The first set scorecard oscillated between the Bruins and the Golden Bears, culminating in a 4-0 scoring run by the latter that evened the score to 24 apiece. A kill by sophomore outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette and a block by redshirt senior middle blocker Anna Dodson and senior opposite/outside hitter Iman Ndiaye gave the Bruins their 25th and 26th points, landing the first set in favor of the Bruins.
Three UCLA attackers led the pack with double-digit kills each, as sophomore opposite/outside hitter Grayce Olson led the team with 12 – including four in the second set – while Dodson and Leverette contributed with ten kills each.
Olson said the team has placed an emphasis on starting out faster.
“We were able to beat them at the first five, 10, 15 points,” Olson said. “It never really felt like we had to catch up because we were pretty much always in the lead.”
The Bruins also managed to limit their errors, as they committed 14 on Friday – 11 less than their previous match against Arizona State State and seven fewer than the Golden Bears.
Reft said that making fewer errors was critical to winning the contest.
“We were just a very low error team tonight,” Reft said. “And that certainly helps trying to win matches.”
Senior setter Audrey Pak achieved a new personal best with 36 assists complemented by seven digs and one ace. Pak tallied in nearly all areas of the scoreboard, contributing two kills and a block from the front row.
UCLA will finish its Bay Area trip with its first matchup of the season against a top-five foe in No. 3 Stanford on Sunday afternoon.
Olson said she is confident in her team’s ability to override the nation’s third-best squad.
“We know that we are a really good team, and Stanford has a good team, too, but I think we have what it takes to upset them,” Olson said. “I think the whole team thinks that.”
Comments are closed.