It was a momentary setback in a an otherwise flawless
performance.
After easily taking the lead and sweeping its first two games,
the UCLA women’s volleyball team abruptly lost control of its
match against Oregon in the third game. But the No. 9 Bruins
wrested the momentum back from the Ducks in game four, winning in
four games 30-23, 30-20, 29-31, and 30-22.
“We switched up our rotations, and we tried a few new
things, but it didn’t feel comfortable with everybody playing
new positions,” middle blocker Brynn Murphy said.
The lineup switch coupled with the Ducks’ renewed
intensity allowed the home team to take control of the net, and
ultimately the third game.
This shaky encounter was fortunately brief for UCLA, as they
swiftly changed back to their original lineup in the fourth game,
and took home the victory. UCLA improved to 15-4, 7-3 Pac-10 while
Oregon (3-16, 0-10 Pac-10) lost its 10th consecutive conference
match.
Thursday’s match came in the middle of a five-match road
trip, which has included exhausting five-game matches against No. 5
Cal and No. 7 Stanford.
While UCLA did falter in game three against Oregon, it was only
a minor setback.
“We came back in the fourth game, got back into rhythm,
and we felt great. It just shows that we can return from something
like that,” Murphy said.
“I think we distributed things pretty well,” coach
Andy Banachowski added. “In the end, our serving, passing,
and attacking was a little bit better than theirs.”
The Bruins hit a solid .224 held down the Ducks to .133. While
UCLA’s greatest strength was its team chemistry, the
combination of players on court allowed many individuals to
shine.
Outside hitter Brittany Ringel led the Bruins with 17 kills, and
middle blocker Cira Wright contributed 15 kills and 19 digs.
Outside hitter Heather Cullen and middle blocker Nancy Barba each
notched 5 kills. Overall, the team matched Oregon with 9
blocks.
While freshman outside hitter Colby Lyman was unable to play due
to an eye infection, fellow freshman Becky Green filled in for her
and contributed 13 kills and 10 digs.
“It’s a breath of fresh air to start the second half
of the Pac-10 having accomplished so much already,” Ringel
said. “This just shows that our team can put anybody in any
position and compete.”
The Bruins will continue their road trip tonight against Oregon
State in Corvallis.