Coach Michael Sealy didn’t think he would change. Since 2010, he’s done what most NCAA volleyball coaches do.
Sealy ran a 5-1 – with five attackers and one setter – and said in preseason that he’d do the same in his seventh season at the helm of the UCLA women’s volleyball team.
But with conference play starting up against USC, Sealy changed it up.
“We’re not going to a 5-1; it just doesn’t fit our personnel,” Sealy said after the rivalry game.
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The No. 12 Bruins (10-2, 1-1 Pac-12) switched to a 6-2 and beat the Trojans in four sets.
Two setters are utilized in a 6-2 rotation, with each running the offense from the back row for three rotations. The most notable advantage is the ability to always have a hitter-blocker on the right side, but it does have its drawbacks.
On the left side, junior outside hitter Reily Buechler has benefited from the new rotation with a 21-kill performance against USC.
“Because of the situation there’s always two front row hitters on the antenna,” Sealy said. “Nobody can leave and just take care of Reily – you gotta honor everybody.”
Sealy said that the team is not big enough on the pins to be an outside dominant team, with Buechler and senior outside hitter Jordan Anderson listed at 6-foot-1 and 6-foot, respectively.
In the small, two-game sample size since introducing the new rotation, Buechler’s hitting percentage is only .173 compared to .190 on the season. On the other hand, Anderson’s hitting percentage in the 6-2 is .250 compared to .228 on the season.
But because of the 15 subs-per-set limit, Anderson will also need to play through all six rotations instead of leaving the game in favor of a defensive specialist.
Anderson’s presence has revealed one issue in her game that was not as apparent when freshman defensive specialist Savvy Simo was handling Anderson’s back row rotations. In the first 10 matches of the season, Simo recorded only seven service errors while Anderson already has four in the past two matches.
On the other hand, a benefit to the 6-2 is that Sealy has the opportunity to play two different opposites and take advantage of the team’s depth in that position. In the past two matches, freshman Torrey Van Winden and sophomore Zana Muno have taken the most swings on the right side.
At 5-foot-10, Muno is the shortest hitter on the team, but was also one of the most effective in the team’s loss against Washington State. She hit almost 50 points higher than the team average of .248.
[Related: Bruin women’s volleyball falls to Cougars after tough battle on court]
Last year, Muno primarily played setter, but she was mostly used as a defensive specialist in the preseason.
“All year, I’ve been playing every position and I think that my role this year is just to accept whatever position they put me in, and I’m happy to be wherever I can help the team,” Muno said.
Although this marks Sealy’s first time coaching a 6-2 at UCLA, his team is not the only team on this campus utilizing the rotation.
Coach John Speraw of the men’s volleyball team found success with a 6-2 last season, but also struggled initially.
“The 6-2 is wonderful for diversity, but early in the season it leads to increased errors,” Speraw said in the first month of his own season.
Sealy said that the women’s team had 59 errors, including 39 hitting errors, against Washington State, making it difficult for the Bruins to come out on top.
The men’s team was able to overcome these increased errors and go 25-7 on the season, so the women will be looking to follow the men’s example.