This post was updated Nov. 14 at 11:10 p.m.
A mix of offensive scoring runs and serving efficiency allowed the Bruins to best the No. 9 team in the nation.
UCLA women’s volleyball (16-10, 8-8 Pac-12) upset No. 9 Washington State (20-7,10-6) in five sets Friday before defeating Washington (14-13, 5-11) in four sets Sunday to depart the Pacific Northwest victorious. The Bruins created their two highest service ace figures of the season with 13 and 11, respectively.
Redshirt senior middle blocker Anna Dodson said the Bruins have honed in on creating scoring spurts.
“We have been working on our serves, and, as Alfee (coach Alfee Reft) coined it, ‘Bruin runs,’” Dodson said. “So when we are on the service line, we are fighting to get those runs and get three or more points in a row.”
Friday’s 3-2 victory was UCLA’s first road overthrow of a top-10 team since defeating then-No. 2 Stanford at Maples Pavilion back in 2016 and its first conquer of a ranked opponent in exactly two months.
“We were presented with a great opportunity to beat a ranked team on Friday,” Dodson said. “I’m very proud of the work that we put in.”
A 10-3 start in the opening set handed the Bruins a lead they wouldn’t let go of, ultimately coming away with a 25-20 statement. The team’s offensive success in the frame was spurred on by a .379 hitting percentage alongside just four errors.
However, Washington State would go on to take sets two and four – both in overtime – leaving it to a fifth set to determine the game’s winner.
Despite trailing the Cougars for a majority of the fifth set, the Bruins pulled the margin to just one point, with the score at 11-10 in favor of the former. A kill from senior outside/opposite hitter Iman Ndiaye gave the Bruins their first lead of the frame at 15-14.
But the veteran wasn’t done just yet.
Ndiaye elevated for what became the final kill of the affair, sealing the deal 17-15 and carving in UCLA’s conquest of the nation’s ninth-best squad.
And then, the visitors did it all over again.
After a neck-and-neck set, UCLA managed a narrow win in the opening frame against Washington on Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette said the squad’s defense has added great vitality to its performance.
“Our defense has been doing its job and getting crazy digs,” Leverette said. “I feel like for me as a hitter, it makes me want to hit the ball 10 times harder to help award them.”
A 5-1 scoring spurt gave the Bruins an early lead in the second set. Although the Cougars called for a timeout, the Bruins had already cemented a lead they never let go of and ultimately clinched the second set.
With a 25-20 victory in the fourth set, the Bruins bested their hosts to complete a two-win weekend.
Reft said that these wins are the fruit of the work that’s done behind the scenes.
“On top of the postseason opportunity with these two wins, it’s just great for our players who have really stayed in and have been grinding all season,” Reft said.
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