This post was updated Oct. 5 at 11:02 p.m.
Maybe it’s best that the Bruins’ first two home matches were seemingly overlooked by many.
With Thursday’s contest occurring squarely in the middle of week one for UCLA students and Saturday being UCLA football’s first contest at the Rose Bowl this academic year – No. 24 UCLA women’s volleyball (8-6, 2-2 Big Ten) drew in a total viewership of fewer than 2,000 fans across its first two contests at Pauley Pavilion.
And despite coming off an upset victory over then-No. 15 Penn State on the road Sunday, UCLA faltered against No. 13 Purdue (12-2, 3-1) in five sets Thursday and Indiana (13-1, 4-0) in four sets Saturday.
“We’re in plays, we’re in the right spots and we’re reading things,” said coach Alfee Reft. “It’s really just about executing the touch or going for the actual swing that’s open. The frustrating thing is 80% of the play is there. Now we’ve got to actually finish plays.”
The Bruins – who ranked No. 18 in the AVCA’s preseason poll and were picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten in the preseason coaches poll – appear to have been stringing their starting lineup together.
While Reft declined to comment on the health of his team, Long Beach State transfer and graduate student setter Zayna Meyer was on the sideline with teammates but not in uniform Saturday – and hasn’t played since Sept. 21.
Graduate student middle blocker Phekran Kong, a transfer from Louisville, hasn’t appeared since Sept. 26. Sophomore outside hitter Kiki Horne – who was tied for the second-most kills on the team last season with 249 – hasn’t played since Sept. 5.
And California transfer junior outside hitter Maggie Li – a member of the AVCA’s Preseason Player of the Year Watch List – has played in just nine sets after Sept. 19 and recorded only one kill, which came Saturday.
With a squad racked by potential injuries, the Bruins’ less experienced players have had to step up.
Of the 10 student-athletes who played in every set Thursday and Saturday, two were freshmen. And of the eight remaining, four played in fewer than half their team’s sets last season.
“We’re going to play the people that have earned the spots, and the people you’re seeing on the court have earned those positions,” Reft said. “There’s a lot of quick learning curves that we’re moving through, but that’s not an excuse. We should be handling business, but we do have some young ones on the court, certainly.”
Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Brooklyn Briscoe’s playing time was limited last season, with former Bruins middle blocker Anna Dodson and middle hitter Leilani Dodson in front of her on the depth chart. And with the transfers of redshirt junior middle blocker Marianna Singletary and Kong, it initially seemed like Briscoe would seldom see the court this season.
Instead, Briscoe has played in all but one set this year.
“We practice really hard every day, we compete every day and we’re all putting our best out there,” Briscoe said. “We’re just a very deep position group and making each other better every day.”
Thursday’s and Saturday’s matches could have been ones the Bruins won with their most experienced players on the court. Instead, UCLA dropped a two-set lead over Purdue and a one-set lead over Indiana.
Against the Boilermakers, the Bruins were a set point away from a sweep. And against the Hoosiers, an early 3-0 lead in the third set and a 9-2 lead in the fourth both evaporated.
On Thursday, UCLA’s hitting percentage fell from .351 and .379 in the first two frames to .184, .143 and .000 across the final three, respectively. A similar story unfolded Saturday, when a .481 clip in the first was followed by marks of .148, .265 and .167.
Senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette represented one of few bright spots for the Bruins, reaching 20 kills for the second time this season – finishing Saturday with 21 – adding her 10th and 11th double-digit kill performances of the season this week.
Additionally, Briscoe eclipsed her single-season career high in sets played Saturday – less than halfway through the regular season – and recorded the second double-digit kill performance of her career Thursday.
Though UCLA is on its second losing streak of the season just a fifth of the way through its conference slate, sophomore defensive specialist/libero Lola Schumacher – who left Wisconsin for Westwood this offseason – hasn’t lost faith.
“I’m not worried at all,” Schumacher said. “I know what this group can do. I believe in our process. I believe in our coaching staff. … I’m really excited to see where we go.”
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