Down 1-0 late the second set, the UCLA women’s volleyball team had two set points, chances to even the score and climb back into the match. It seemed as if they would do just that, as senior outside hitter Kelly Reeves and junior outside hitter Karsta Lowe sent blistering shot after shot into the opposing side.
But California refused to go away.
California earned its own set point, and converted, taking the second set 31-29. After taking a grueling set that featured 23 ties and eight lead changes, the Bears essentially decided the match, going on to defeat the No. 16 Bruins (9-5, 0-4 Pac-12) in a Friday night match that was much closer than its 3-0 score would indicate.
“I think the first two sets came down to a couple little things, whether it was a blown assignment or a missed block, something we normally do,” said coach Mike Sealy. “But I thought we had some decent control in the first two sets.”
Led by junior outside hitter Christina Higgins and her 18 kills, Cal doggedly hung with UCLA, and, when the moment was right, capitalized on its opportunities.
“We don’t put the ball away that much. … I think we just can’t finish,” Lowe said. “I think we were so close so many times, and we just (couldn’t) finish.”
The ability to finish – or lack thereof – made the ultimate difference between the two teams, and truly decided the match. When the Bears had chances to put the match away, they did so, while the Bruins were unable to, point after point.
In the first set, the Bruins, despite having two set points, could not put away the Bears (9-3, 2-1 Pac-12). The set was tight from the start, with the teams essentially exchanging points all the way to the end, unable to gain a foothold on the opposition. UCLA, despite outhitting Cal .400 to .395 and minimizing its mistakes – it committed only 4 errors in the set – were in a 1-0 hole. It was one they wouldn’t be able to climb out of.
In spite of the poor result, the No. 16 Bruins remained positive, viewing the match as a positive step, especially following their poor showing against Stanford on Oct. 2 when the Bruins were outplayed from the start.
Sealy said he found inspiration in the third set, where the team, despite playing with almost no hope of victory, refused to give in against the Bears.
“Something huge happened in the third set,” Sealy said, “When there was no reason to keep playing, they decided to play again. So they took a normal habit of shutting down, and decided to turn it back on, to compete for the sake of competing, and that’s huge.”
Freshman middle blocker Claire Felix said she felt similarly, and believed that the team can build on some positives from this match in the week of practice leading up to the team’s Oct. 11 matchup against Oregon.
“I think we just realized that … a loss doesn’t define us, at any point,” Felix said. “Win or lose, we’re leaving it out on the court every time we step out there.”