Heading into the third set of this weekend’s marquee matchup against No. 4 Washington, the UCLA women’s volleyball team secured the best possible scenario for an upset victory.
Up two sets to none at the Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, UCLA was staring at its first win at the University of Washington campus in 11 years, a victory against a top-five opponent and the chance to dramatically climb up the American Volleyball Coaches Association rankings.
And then the Bruins blinked.
“We played at a very high level, but we didn’t play at a high level long enough to win,” said coach Michael Sealy. “They are very good at home, and in our first opportunity to play five sets, we looked a little fatigued.”
In what ended up being the first match of UCLA’s season to advance to the deciding fifth set, a combination of mental and physical fatigue left the Bruins to squander a two-set lead and drop three consecutive sets to the Huskies, ultimately losing the match.
“I think it comes down to our serving and passing,” said sophomore libero Taylor Formico. “In the fifth set, we were mentally tired and could have been tougher and started off stronger.”
The Washington weekend road trip wasn’t a complete wash for UCLA, as it managed to break a two-game losing skid with a 3-1 win at Washington State.
“The Pac-12 is one of the toughest conferences, so it’s hard to snap out of a loss, yet it is still so important,” Formico said. “I thought the block did a good job of channeling and blocking hitters and we served tough in the match.”
The Bruins’ win over the Cougars in four sets came in large part from season-high marks in kills and digs from freshman outside hitter Reily Buechler and Formico, respectively.
With 21 kills against Washington State, Buechler’s UCLA career-high kills led the team above senior outside hitter Karsta Lowe’s 13. Not to be outdone, however, Lowe recorded her own milestone as she reached the 1,000-kill mark for her UCLA career.
“We switched up some lineups, so I was able to get a few more sets in,” Buechler said. “I was kind of in the moment and with the team playing well, I was just able to perform.”
With nearly a week off to settle into the first week of classes, the team will face Pac-12 opponents Utah and Colorado at “home” in the Firestone Fieldhouse at Pepperdine University.
Although neither Utah nor Colorado are ranked in the AVCA poll, the Bruins know there simply isn’t any easy match in their remaining conference schedule.
“The Pac-12 is an absolute beast when it comes to women’s volleyball,” Sealy said. “We’ve shown that every single position on our team can contribute and dominate at a high level – we just need to go prove it now.”