UCLA women’s volleyball started the fourth set with eight straight points, five of which were kills.
In the first two sets, the Bruins were outhit .279 to .207.
“We were the aggressors in set three and four. We were a little bit more proactive in taking the game to them, and that’s how we always want to be,” said coach Michael Sealy. “It’s nice that even though we played a very lackadaisical first and second set we were able to wake up and play more our-level volleyball in three and four.”
No. 13 UCLA (7-2) took down unranked Long Beach State (3-10) Friday in four sets.
The Bruins were able to claim the first set 25-20, but the 49ers rebounded in the second set and won 25-18.
“When we first started out we were a little bit off and I don’t think Long Beach was playing well, so we were able to win the first set without really performing,” Sealy said. “And then they started to play well and kind of slapped us around a little bit, so we got a little reality check.”
After Long Beach held UCLA to a hitting percentage of just .121, the Bruins returned from the locker room with a newfound intensity.
“It was an aggressive mentality for sure,” said junior middle blocker Kyra Rogers. “Our passing was amazing so we were able to run our offense how we do in practice every day, so I think that was the difference.”
UCLA improved its hitting to .306 and .312 in the third and fourth sets, respectively, and took the sets 25-16 and 25-15. Four players – Rogers, senior pin hitter Reily Buechler, freshman pin hitter Jenny Mosser and freshman pin hitter Mac May – all recorded double digit kills. Buechler and Mosser each tacked on 11 digs.
Freshman middle blocker Sabrina Smith saw her first collegiate start against Long Beach and tallied seven kills and a team-high four blocks.
Midway through the fourth set, Sealy substituted sophomore setter Kylie Miller and freshman pin hitter Alexis Light for their first appearances of the season. Light was previously injured, but Sealy said she has been cleared to play and will be competing with Buechler, Mosser and May for the three pin hitter spots.
No. 10 Nebraska handed UCLA its first two losses of the season Sept. 8 and 9. Sealy said the weekend showed what the team needed to work on and was a great reality check.
“We worked on a lot of things in practice like high-ball setting and green-lighting free balls, just working on the little things to make our game better, and I think that really showed on the court,” Rogers said.
Buechler credits hard work in practice for the Bruins’ performance against the 49ers.
“Whenever we’re getting after it in practice it really translates into our games,” Buechler said. “If there’s intent in practice then we’ll be able to click in games.”