Michael Sealy said his team needed to serve tougher after getting dismissed in straight sets against Oregon.
“When you serve tough, it’s usually not a great pass so they have to set higher which allows us to get two blockers up,” the coach said. “I thought our defense was able to set up based on how well we served.”
No. 17 UCLA women’s volleyball (8-5, 3-3 Pac-12) swept Oregon State (10-8, 0-6) at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night to improve to 3-1 at home. The Bruins, after failing to record a single ace against Oregon the night before, logged six service aces against the Beavers to record their first sweep of the season.
The Beavers registered a hitting percentage of only .029 in the first set, with eight kills and seven errors.
UCLA took the first set 25-18, only facing trouble against senior defensive specialist Kayla Ellis, who served three aces in the set.
Senior libero Zana Muno helped the Bruins battle the tough service, registering four assists in the opening set.
“She was our setter in 2015,” Sealy said. “She’s got great hands. It’s a nice bonus when she can step in and set nice balls.”
The Bruins posted a .289 hitting percentage compared to .073 for the Beavers en route to a 25-16 set win.
Oregon State did not yet claim its first lead until the third set at 3-2, but after a tie at 13, the Bruins went on a 12-6 run to finish the match off.
Sophomore outside hitter Mac May led the team with 13 kills and seven digs, while sophomore outside hitter Jenny Mosser racked up eight kills and 14 digs.
UCLA setters junior Kylie Miller and freshman Devon Chang split playing time against Oregon, but Sealy elected to play Miller for all three sets against Oregon State. Miller posted 36 assists and five digs.
“(Miller) does a great job of spreading the offense,” Mosser said. “(May) does a great job, but because she does so well, it leaves openings for me and the middle.”
All five of UCLA’s hitters that played had double-digit total attacking attempts.
“I thought we passed really well which gave us the ability to set up everybody,” Sealy said. “Everybody was attacking well which allowed us to be balanced.”
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Alexis Light recorded the second double-digit kill game of her career with 10 kills.
“Light not only provides offense, but she also provides passing and defense as well which brings our numbers up,” Miller said. “Big blocks and puts balls away.”
The Bruins logged seven blocks against the Beavers, compared to five on Friday against the Ducks.
“When we got them out of system, it was really easy to know where they were going to set the ball so we were able to get shoulder to shoulder and get a solid block up,” Mosser said.
UCLA will take on Arizona State (12-5, 3-2) at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night.