Thursday, March 28, 2024

AdvertiseDonateSubmit
NewsSportsArtsOpinionThe QuadPhotoVideoIllustrationsCartoonsGraphicsThe StackPRIMEEnterpriseInteractivesPodcastsBruinwalkClassifieds

Women’s volleyball proves resilient in close victory

Senior outside hitter Kelly Reeves had 21 kills in UCLA’s win over Long Beach State.

By

Sept. 23, 2013 4:31 p.m.

The UCLA women’s volleyball team had its back to the wall. Not playing at its best, the team was down 2-1 on the road, embroiled in a tight match of long rallies and missed opportunities. In such a situation, many teams would have folded—even UCLA teams of old, according to coach Michael Sealy.

“I think that at some points in the year, even last year, if we’d made the mistakes, the close errors that we made, it would have affected us more,” he said, “I think that teams in the past, if we weren’t playing great volleyball, we’d get frustrated and kind of shut down.”

Not this year’s team, however. The Bruins proved their resiliency, playing with energy in the fourth set to force a fifth, and managed to deliver a knockout blow there. After such an effort, No. 11 UCLA (9-1) escaped Long Beach State (5-5) with a 3-2 victory on Wednesday, closing out its preseason with the familiar taste of victory.

“It was a really close game,” said sophomore libero Karly Drolson. “Obviously we weren’t playing our best out there today, but it was great to pull out the win. It was a little stressful at times, but we stayed composed, and it was great to get that win.”

After hitting only .043 in the third set loss, the team improved its offensive efficiency in the final two sets. Senior outside hitter Kelly Reeves, who had trouble hitting early on in the match, was central for the Bruins late in the game, hitting 13 of her 21 kills in the fourth and fifth sets to lead the Bruins to two straight set victories. On defense, Drolson led the team with 20 digs, playing a central role in prolonging rallies and maintaining the team’s defensive front.

“The amount of passion (Drolson) and Kelly (Reeves) showed was pretty amazing,” Sealy said. “(Drolson) was getting a ton of balls, being very vocal on the court.”

The improvements allowed the Bruins to maintain a slim lead over the 49ers in the fourth set, which saw the team overcome an early 3-2 deficit to take the lead. UCLA led by as much as 5, but Long Beach State quickly erased the 13-8 margin to draw within 2 points. However, the Bruins would not let the team get any closer in the set.

In the fifth set UCLA again surged ahead after an early deficit. The Bruins, leading 14-11, had three straight set points, but allowed the 49ers to climb back into the match and even the score at 14-14. However, kills by senior Mariana Aquino and redshirt freshman Haley Lawless sealed the match for UCLA.

The narrow victory was the team’s fourth straight win, and allowed the Bruins to close out their preseason on a positive note. As UCLA looks to its Pac-12 season opener at No. 4 USC (10-1) on Wednesday, the team feels that matches like this one ultimately help them as a team.

“I think we found our identity tonight,” Reeves said. “We’re a tough team and we’re going to go down fighting, and from here on out, we’re (going to be) working. We’re going to give every team our best, and I’m excited for our future.”

Email Dattawadkar at [email protected].

Share this story:FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
COMMENTS
Featured Classifieds
More classifieds »
Related Posts