In the last road trip of the regular season, the UCLA women’s volleyball team split the series against Oregon State and No. 18 Oregon in a weekend up north.
All did not go as planned for the Bruins as they faced Oregon and fell in five sets 23-25, 18-25, 25-22, 27-25, 17-15. After taking the first two sets, the match took a turn for the worse for UCLA (21-8, 11-5 Pac-10) as the Ducks (17-9, 7-9) came back in the following three sets.
“It was a very disappointing loss for us, and I hope that will serve as a motivator for us,” coach Andy Banachowski said.
The Bruins started the game off strongly and did not fall behind the entire first set. UCLA opened by taking six of the first seven points, but Oregon reduced the deficit to 14-12. With 14 consecutive side-outs between the two teams, Oregon eventually tied the score at 21. With a Dicey McGraw kill and an Oregon attack error, the Bruins took the first set.
In the second set, the Bruins rallied for a four-point run to end the set 25-18 with kills from sophomore middle blocker Amanda Gil and redshirt senior opposite Kaitlin Sather.
The energy swung in the third set when Oregon came out with a new lineup from the first two sets. Oregon coach Jim Moore pulled senior defensive specialist Amanda Westrick and started sophomore middle blocker Dana Stephenson.
With the change, Oregon started its run towards victory. The Ducks led by as much as nine points and, despite five kills from Sather, UCLA could not stop Oregon from taking the set.
“I think it was all momentum,” junior outside hitter McGraw said. “Oregon came out on their home court and did not want to lose to us in three on their senior night.”
Banachowski added that the lineup change caused problems for the Bruins.
“We did not adjust to that very well,” Banachowski said. “For a position that we were in pretty good shape, it turned around on us.”
In the fourth set, with a number of late-set runs, the Bruins earned match point at 24-23, but an Oregon sideout tied the set at 24. The Ducks countered a Sather kill with three straight to win the set 27-25.
In a back and forth fifth set, a triple roof from Oregon’s front row eventually ended the set at 17-15.
Oregon’s senior outside hitter Sonja Newcombe was unstoppable, finishing with 28 kills and 25 digs.
“She had an outstanding night,” Banachowski said. “She is able to go out there and hang in the air and hit the balls to spots she wants to hit.”
Sather recorded 16 kills and 11 digs, while McGraw posted another 16 kills for the Bruins.
On Friday night, UCLA swept Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore. 25-20, 25-23, 25-16.
UCLA jumped out to an 8-3 lead with a service ace from Sather. Late in the set, Oregon State went on a 5-1 run to close the Bruin’s advantage to 23-20, but a kill from Hole and a block from Camp sealed the set.
The Beavers stepped up to challenge the Bruins in the second set. Oregon State grabbed the lead with a kill from senior setter Camilla Ah-Hoy and a block from Ah-Hoy and senior outside hitter Rachel Rourke.
Down 17-14, the Bruins started to make a move towards gaining the lead. A kill from Sather and three kills from Hole helped UCLA tie the score at 18.
Both teams went back and forth for UCLA to finally take the set with kills from Gil and Sather.
The third set was nearly all UCLA, with the Bruins never looking back from a 2-2 tie.
Hole had a match and career-high 13 kills with four of her kills coming in the final set. Sather added her 15th double-double of the season with 12 kills and 14 digs.
“The level of the Pac-10 is so intense that even the last team in the Pac-10 is really good,” McGraw said. “(Oregon State) is definitely not a team to take lightly, and we respect them.”