Two protagonists feature in the Bruins’ 2023 novel, and it’s a storyline steered by a veteran duo.
UCLA women’s volleyball (13-10, 5-8 Pac-12) had a winning streak snapped with a three-set loss to No. 15 Arizona State (22-3, 10-3) on Friday in Pauley Pavilion. Despite the final result, redshirt senior middle blocker Anna Dodson and senior opposite/outside hitter Iman Ndiaye led the team, registering 56% of its kills and 55% of its points.
“They’re obviously the leaders of this program,” said coach Alfee Reft. “They’ve been here the longest, they know how this goes. They hold a lot of weight for us both leadership wise but also performance.”
Dodson proved the Bruins’ all-round linchpin in the affair, summoning four kills and four blocks in the opening frame. And despite slower production in the second set, Dodson regained her momentum to muster another three kills in the final frame after finding gaps on all regions of the floor.
“Going into practice this past week, I really just focused on making upgrades in my defensive and offensive moves,” Dodson said. “And we’ve been working on spreading our offense out as well and making sure we had a balanced offense.”
The 6-foot-5 stalwart’s four blocks helped create a wall at the Bruin net, constructing a defense the Sun Devils couldn’t consistently pierce throughout the first set’s regulation time.
When Dodson elevated for a block to furnish each team with 24 apiece, set point appeared near – but instead, another 12 points had to be distributed for a victor to be determined.
Ndiaye was vital in maintaining UCLA’s lifeline during the first-set overtime, generating a pair of kills to keep a finger on the win. But on set point, sophomore outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette made an attack error to award the frame in her adversaries’ favor.
The Sun Devils launched into the second frame with a 4-0 scoring spurt, forcing Reft to declare an early timeout. The Bruins never recovered as the Sun Devils held onto the lead throughout the slate.
In a sharp deviation from the first set’s 18 ties and 10 lead changes, the ensuing set was devoid of either as the Sun Devils maintained a .435 clip.
“We had some lineups block wise and defensively that we had trained and practiced and got a little bit away from us in the second and third set,” Reft said. “They put a lot of speed on, they’re all incredibly fast.”
By the time the knot was tied on the game, Ndiaye had tallied a career-high 14 digs – with seven of those occurring in the third frame alone. Although there was minimal answer to Arizona State opposite hitter Marta Levinska and middle blocker Claire Jeter, it was Ndiaye and Dodson postponing the eventual match point, producing kills and saves for UCLA.
Reft said the Bruins’ on-court arrangements have assisted in Ndiaye’s defensive prowess.
“We all know she can hit the ball,” Reft said. “But she’s been putting a lot of emphasis on her ability to dig hard drives and run some shots down, and I think our block does a nice job of taking space so that she can be available to make those plays.”
Every story has its chapters, so despite a third-set loss to seal the Sun Devils’ sweep, Dodson said she and Ndiaye will remain co-pilots of the Bruins’ trek to a potential NCAA tournament bid.
“We (Iman and I) really do present a great body of leadership,” Dodson said. “Especially for these younger players to see and to let us guide them with them.”
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