It was a week of mixing and matching as veterans and rookies shared the court for the UCLA women’s volleyball team (5-1). A well-traveled Bruin squad ventured to UC Riverside on Wednesday, and then headed to Reno, Nevada to face Nevada and Seattle University. UCLA came out on the winning side, as the Bruins completed three-game sweeps against each of the schools.
Although UCLA got past the competition relatively easily, Nevada put up a challenge on Friday. The teams exchanged the lead five times in the second set as it came down to the last four points. UCLA, however, was able to overcome the test and sweep the Wolf Pack 25-19, 25-22, 25-18 by using a well-balanced attack, with five players recording five-plus kills.
Several Bruins saw playing time, including two Bruin freshmen who made their college debuts. Outside hitter Sara Sage and setter Alexa Harper played their first games as Bruins. Altogether, five freshmen saw playing time this week.
“I know it seems like there are a lot of freshmen, but they are not playing like freshmen,” said senior libero Jessica Fine. “They are right in there with all of the seniors and doing a great job.”
The seniors also contributed to victories. Senior setter Nellie Spicer finished the weekend with 85 assists, moving her closer to breaking UCLA’s all-time assists record. Senior outside hitter Ali Daley had 11 kills in two games and a career-high four aces against Seattle University. The Bruins combined for 12 aces against the Redhawks.