On a team filled with powerhouse upperclassmen, sometimes the younger players fly under the radar.
Thursday night’s freshman takeover was overshadowed by something far more ominous, a loss to Oregon. No. 9 UCLA (20-5, 11-4 Pac-12) went a full five sets against Oregon (13-12, 7-9) only to lose in a heartbreaking fashion.
The first set looked like what you would expect out of the Bruins versus a lower-ranked team. Junior outside hitter Jordan Anderson and freshman setter Zana Muno both had solo blocks to get the game started.
Oregon played a very scrappy game, pulling up to tie the score five times throughout the set. But the Ducks were never able to take the lead.
After a couple of powerful kills by Anderson, UCLA pulled ahead and seized the set 25-17.
The following set had a very similar feeling as the first – back-and-forth and scrappy.
One play in particular had a ball dance on the net only to fall in favor of the Ducks, and in another, they had a serve that barely touched the line for an ace.
The Bruins finally lost the second set on a service ace with the exact same score from the previous set, 25-17.
Coming out of the break firing, freshman outside hitter Kyra Rogers got the first kill for UCLA in the third set.
After being out day after day with an injury, Reily Buechler stepped in for the third set after not playing for three games. The sophomore outside hitter instantly made her presence felt with an emphatic kill on her first play.
Nearing the end of the set, the score was tied at 23, then tied at 24 and then at 25. The Ducks finally came out on top winning the third set 27-25.
The fourth set continued with the back-and-forth motif. With 15 ties and eight lead changes, UCLA struggled to take control over its unranked opponent.
The last of those lead changes swung the set into the Bruins’ favor, ending it at a close score of 25-23.
After nearly two-and-a-half hours of game play, the fifth set began.
Oregon was in control the entire time, bringing the score to 14-8.
UCLA battled back through a combination of standout digs and powerful kills to pull within two of Oregon before finally succumbing 15-12.
Anderson finished the game with a team-leading 19 kills from the outside hitter position. Meanwhile Buechler’s presence yielded more modest returns, as she notched just two kills in two sets.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Jessyka Ngauamo and Rogers both had ten kills.
Muno, the reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, had an impressive game, posting yet another double-double with 21 digs and 51 assists.
Muno found both high and low aspects regarding the loss.
“We didn’t execute our game plan as well as we wanted to,” Muno said. “But, no matter what, we really stayed together and we always fought at the end, that’s our strong point.”
Rogers had a bit of a breakout game considering her 10 kills came during only three sets of action.
“I was super confident,” Rogers said. “I’m working on waiting on sets because I’m a previous middle (blocker). I’m just trusting the process and working with my setter to get the timing right.”
Coach Michael Sealy was calm and collected after the loss, relaying a certain message to his team.
“It wasn’t a great night for us,” Sealy said. “I told the girls, ‘We’ve dodged so many bullets this year, and it’s only fair. You can’t come out, play the way we did and expect to have a miraculous miracle win.’”