Clean sweep for UCLA women’s volleyball in Hawaii

HONOLULU – For the first time since 2011 the No. 8 UCLA women’s volleyball team has a perfect 6-0 to start the season.

The Bruins had only a marginally tougher time at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic than they did at the LMU Invitational.

UCLA defeated Pacific (2-4) and Missouri State (3-3) in four sets apiece while they swept No. 15 Hawai’i (3-3) in the championship match.

Once again, the outside hitting duo of junior Reily Buechler and senior Jordan Anderson combined to be a powerful scoring force.

Anderson led the team during the tournament with 39 kills, while Buechler was close behind with 36 and leads the team in the season with 75.

Buechler was quick to credit her team for her success this season.

“Our team dynamic is so much fun, I’ve been playing with these girls for so long,” Buechler said. “I’ve been playing with my setter since I was nine years old, we’re clicking well and the team’s really rolling.”

Meanwhile, the two setters from last year shared the floor. Instead of splitting time at setter, sophomore Zana Muno – now defensive specialist – rotated in while redshirt junior Ryann Chandler helmed the setter position.

Having had to adjust to setter during her freshman year, positional change is nothing out of the ordinary for the uniquely diverse Muno.

“I’ve played, really, every position my whole life,” Muno said. “So it’s nothing new to me and I’m happy to do whatever I can to help this team win.”

In the middle, UCLA utilized its older players as senior middle blockers Claire Felix and Jennie Frager took most of the reps.

Frager finished the tournament in first place on the blocks leaderboard with two solo and 16 assisted, along with 27 kills while Felix notched one solo block, seven assisted and 19 kills.

One position that has been in a bit more flux of late is the opposite, with sophomore Kyra Rogers and redshirt senior Haley Lawless getting most of the reps. Lawless has been sidelined recently due to training room concerns as per coach Michael Sealy. But Lawless saw substantial time during the final match versus Hawai’i.

“It was part of her rehab protocol, it was time for the trainers to see her move around a bit,” Sealy said. “She was just going to go out there and play as much as she could.”

To finish off the rotation, freshman defensive specialist Savvy Simo got the call to start for the Bruins. Simo and Muno are filling the gap left by the only graduating starters from 2015, defensive specialists Rachel Inouye and Karly Drolson.

With a near-identical roster from a successful 2015 campaign and a revamped lineup, UCLA has seen major success during this young 2016 season. And this year’s success can, partially, be attributed to a change in mindset, said Sealy.

“It’s more of a growth mindset… everyone is selfless, everyone is okay with doing whatever role needs to be done,” Sealy said. “Last year people were scrapping a bit for whatever was going to be theirs and what they deserved, as opposed to ‘whatever I can give to this team, I’m willing to.'”

UCLA will travel to San Diego for a pair of nonconference games against UC Irvine and UC San Diego on Friday and Saturday, respectively. After that, the Bruins will have two more games before Pac-12 play begins with a road game against unranked USC.