UCLA women’s volleyball drops home opener in Stanford sweep

After almost five weeks on the road, the UCLA women’s volleyball team finally returned to Pauley Pavilion, playing before a home crowd for the first time this season. However, any hopes of a happy homecoming were quickly dashed by the visiting Stanford Cardinal.

No. 7 Stanford (10-2, 3-0 Pac-12), which came into the match having won seven straight, took control of the match midway through the first set and never let up, shutting out the No. 16 Bruins (9-4, 0-3). The loss was UCLA’s third straight, marking the longest such streak this season.

The Bruins hit only .123 in the match, committing 21 errors, allowing the Cardinal to pad their lead time and time again, and ultimately take the match. Such a trend has been troubling throughout UCLA’s losses this year, as the team has made unforced errors that let its opponents take control of matches and pull away. Wednesday night, multiple team members attributed the slew of mistakes to the team’s lack of focus.

“We’re trying to learn how to battle every point right now, and I think we get there sometimes, and then we take points off,” said junior setter Megan Moenoa. “It’s nothing technical (for us), it’s just (about) staying focused.”

The inability to maintain a high level of play was best exhibited in the first set, which was the tightest of the three – both teams trading points all the way to a 17-14 Stanford lead. On that point, junior outside hitter Karsta Lowe hammered a searing kill into the heart of the Stanford defense, bringing the home crowd to its feet.

However, rather than seize momentum after that shot, UCLA gave it away. Three Bruin attacking errors helped the Cardinal go on an 8-3 run to close out the set.

“We’re right there with teams, and then for just four or five points, we … just lose focus, and that makes (our play) just go down a little,” said sophomore libero Karly Drolson of the set’s final sequence.

The match was essentially decided after that. Though the second set began very similarly to the first, the Cardinal were able to pull away early on – never letting the score get closer than 8-8. The Bruins’ unforced mistakes were again on display here, as the team hit only .062 in the set, its lowest percentage of the night.

Though the third set featured a few long rallies, the Bruins fell behind from the start and were never really in it. The team hit .085 and committed eight errors in the set. The Bruins struggled to gain momentum and were often simply outplayed by the Cardinal.

“We need to process things better,” Drolson said. “It’s kind of like we’re blank-faced, we’re giving emotion, but not giving 100 percent, (which) I know everyone can.”

Perhaps a positive for the team is the fact that it will be back in action almost immediately, as it plays again on Friday night against Cal. Senior outside hitter Kelly Reeves is already looking beyond this defeat.

“We’ve only got about six hours to dwell on this, and then we’re watching film tomorrow, and (starting) to think about (the next match),” Reeves said, “I’m already thinking about Cal.”