At its most basic level, volleyball offense can be broken down into three phases.
Bump. Set. Spike.
For much of this season, No. 10 UCLA (15-3, 6-2 Pac-12) has excelled in all three phases. As the Bruins travel to the Pacific Northwest this weekend to face the No. 25 Oregon Ducks (10-7, 4-4) and the Oregon State Beavers (4-14, 2-6), they will look to continue the trend.
It all starts with the pass. Fundamentally speaking, the pass is an integral part of a team’s offense because being able to transition smoothly between each phase of the attack ensures maximum efficiency. The Bruins’ offense has been firing on all cylinders during its current five-game winning streak because junior libero Taylor Formico has been excellent in initiating phase one of the attack.
“Our offense, it all starts with the initial pass,” said junior outside hitter Jordan Anderson. “And Taylor Formico is one of the best passers I’ve ever seen.”
After the bump, next up on the fundamentals checklist is setting, the prelude to the final hit. UCLA has two capable setters on its roster in freshman Zana Muno and redshirt sophomore Ryann Chandler, but the Bruins have favored Chandler in their recent run of matches.
The decision seems to have paid off. In the seven matches since Chandler entered the starting lineup, her setting has led the way to six wins and five matches with team hitting percentages above .250.
“Ryann and I have a really good relationship, a passer-setter type thing. She talks to me about where she wants the ball on free balls and as she is settling in, she is getting more comfortable,” Formico said. “We are starting to know what she likes and doesn’t like, and she trusts our hitters more which allows for riskier sets that are working to open up the offense.”
Guided by Chandler’s setting, the Bruins set a season-low last Friday for hitting errors, six, and a season-high in hitting percentage, .373, against Arizona, exhibiting their prowess in the third phase of attack.
Phase three, the spike, is arguably the most exciting, and if done correctly, the final hit of the point. The Bruins boast numerous quality options – Anderson, sophomore outside hitter Reily Buechler and junior middle blocker Claire Felix, to name a few – that prevent the opposition from keying in on any single player. Thus, the majority of the attacks end in one-on-one situations for UCLA hitters.
“This past weekend, because everyone was hitting well, the blockers on the other side of the net had no idea where we were going with the ball,” Anderson said. “We were one-on-one nearly the entire time.”
UCLA will hope that its execution from last weekend carries over to this weekend’s slate of games. Friday’s match against the Ducks presents a challenge for the Bruins as they will have to deal with the up-tempo pace of the Oregon offense.
“Oregon has always run a very fast-paced offense, making them a hard team to track,” said coach Michael Sealy. “Just like their football team, they have this crazy West Coast offense with moving parts and it’s really hard to track to play block defense. That’ll be our biggest challenge.”