A storm raged in the western region of the Evergreen State late Saturday night.
It led thousands of faithful Huskies to howl through the Seattle, Washington, night. And it swept up the visitors from Westwood.
UCLA women’s volleyball (16-12, 10-8 Big Ten) was swept by Washington (12-16, 7-11) at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. The Bruins were held to a hitting percentage of .186, compared to the Huskies’ .280.
“I think the place where Washington was able to get the upper hand of the match was in the serve-and-pass battle,” said senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette. “You have to win the serve-and-pass battle in this conference on any given night.”
The Huskies jumped out to a fast start on their Senior Night, winning the first set 25-17. The Bruins posted a .132 clip – their lowest clip of the night.
It appeared the Bruins had reclaimed their mettle early in the second set with their 17-11 lead. Redshirt junior middle blocker Marianna Singletary powered the Bruins’ run, posting two kills, a solo block and a service ace.
But the Washington downpour had just begun.
“We had a dip on our serve receives,” said junior outside hitter Maggie Li. “They were putting some service pressure on us, and we didn’t respond very well to their change.”
Washington went on a 16-10 run to close the second set and did not look back, winning the third set 25-18.
Senior nights have brought extra energy and joy to sports programs around the nation. Washington volleyball had that on full display.
The home crowd flew into a frenzy after each successful Washington rally. But Leverette said the Bruins’ approach did not shift in response to the howls of Husky Nation.
“We’ve learned a lot about ourselves when it comes to environments and how they affect us,” Leverette said. “We’ve learned how to take care of what’s on our side of the net … and tunnel our vision into what’s happening there.”
UCLA’s scoring was propelled by the trio of Leverette, Li and Singletary – each of who racked up double-digit kill performances and contributed to 34 of the Bruins’ 40 kills.
Leverette spearheaded UCLA with 13 kills en route to her 24th double-digit kill performance of the season.
“I love to be the go-to,” Leverette said. “I love to be someone that people can look to when we need to stop the bleeding, recenter everyone and bring everyone back together.”
Sophomore defensive specialist/libero Lola Schumacher has been a go-to for the Bruins in the backrow, amassing 15 digs against the Huskies. Schumacher has posted double-digit digs in all but one match this season, leading the team with 413.
Sophomore setter Kate Duffey served as the lead playmaker for UCLA, recording 23 assists and eclipsing 1000 career assists in the process.
The Bruins said the loss gave them no cause for concern.
“This is a one-time thing,” Li said. “We know what to do. I trust our team and trust the work we’ve put in.”
Li added that the Bruins plan to let emotions from the Washington loss dissipate and turn their attention to their final two regular season matches against Michigan and Michigan State.
Leverette echoed Li’s sentiment and said the Bruins would recalibrate and turn the page on the Washington squall.
“Putting it in perspective that it’s all out the window for us,” Leverette said. “Come in firing on all cylinders. We’re going to take a big reset these next couple days and learn, … showing up the same way that we’ve been showing up all season.”
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