The Bruins had been stretching, bending and diving around the court all night to extend rallies far beyond a believable lifespan.
But, thanks in part to one miscommunication in the final set, Ali Daley twisted too hard and ended up on the ground in pain.
As much as UCLA tried to ignore the loss of their senior outside hitter at such a crucial moment, the play gave the Ducks a 12-11 lead that they would not give back, leaving the Bruins stunned at the finish line of Saturday night’s five-set thriller.
No. 7 Oregon (19-5, 7-4 Pac-10) provided No. 9 UCLA (15-7, 5-6) and the Pauley Pavilion crowd of 1,138 spectators about as much intensity as they could handle. After dropping the first two sets by the same, 2-point margin, 24-26, the Bruins battled back to win the third and fourth sets, 25-18 and 25-21. Then, with tensions running high, it would be the fifth game played to 15 points that would decide the outcome. And that’s where the Ducks would prevail, eking out the win by another 2-point margin, 15-13.
At 13-12, Oregon spiked a kill off a questionable set. No lift call was made by the referee, and the blue and gold in the stands erupted in protest as did UCLA coach Andy Banachowski from the sideline.
“It put them in an advantageous situation when we put them in trouble, and that’s not the design of the rule,” Banachowski said. “So, I was unhappy with the ref’s call, but it’s tough to make a call at that point in the match.”
That point gave the Ducks a match-point situation, which they put away after one try.
“We might’ve hesitated a little bit because off of that set they got a kill,” Banachowski said. “I think that maybe we lost our intensity a little bit expecting a referee’s whistle, and that was our fault.”
The series of events that occurred for the Bruins in the final period largely overshadowed UCLA’s accomplishments. UCLA outblocked Oregon 16-5, a statistical category that they have been working all week to improve upon.
“Obviously to come away with a match having as many blocks like we did is really good, and that’s something that we’ve really been pushing to develop with the personnel that we have out there,” Banachowski said. “I think we can say that we feel pretty good about that. But it is something that we’re doing with some freshmen out there, and they’ve just got to get a little more experienced.”
One of those freshmen, middle blocker Katie Camp, finished the night with 16 kills and just two errors. Sophomore outside hitter Dicey McGraw made 17 kills, but the Bruin front line would not be enough.
“We just need to be more competitive and push towards the end,” McGraw said. “We just need to play all the way through because we are a way better team.”
Playing down 2-0, UCLA was the better team for the next two sets.
“We lost two close games and we talked at intermission just about what’s the difference,” Banachowski said. “Was it a play that I made, was it a play that you made that we can do better out there? And we came out and we did it better in Games 3 and 4. They ended up getting that (last) one; it’s kind of disappointing.”
The Bruins have been talking all season about staying focused on every point and not letting up for the entire match. But it was the Ducks who largely would employ that strategy at the end of the day.
“I think (Oregon) had a lot of fire,” senior setter Nellie Spicer said. “Our girls came out and played very hard. I think just overall we need to grow up and become more competitive every single point.”
Friday night’s match against Oregon State (14-9, 3-7) had a much more subdued atmosphere, as the Bruins handled the Beavers easily, 25-17, 25-16, 25-20. UCLA kept OSU to just a .134 hitting percentage. Freshman middle blocker Amanda Gil led a balanced and effective attack by spiking eight kills without any errors.
INJURY UPDATE: Senior outside hitter Ali Daley was helped off the court by team trainers in the fifth set against Oregon after lying in the middle of court in obvious pain. Although she did not return, her injury was only a temporary cramp of her quadricep, and she should be fully able to practice and play this week.