Errors plague women’s volleyball in loss to Washington
After his team fell short once again, UCLA women’s volleyball coach Michael Sealy will need to find a way to turn UCLA’s fortunes around with five games remaining.
By Jordan Lee
Nov. 14, 2013 12:46 a.m.
If UCLA women’s volleyball’s rematch with Washington seemed familiar, there’s no need to check the calendar.
Seemingly the only thing different about the Bruins’ second go-around with the Huskies from their October match at Pauley Pavilion was the
court the two teams were playing on.
UCLA fell in three straight sets to No. 3 Washington Wednesday in Seattle in a match that greatly resembled the Bruins’ 3-1 loss to the Huskies three weeks ago.
Like the first match, the second edition was largely a tale of close but not quite for the Bruins. UCLA routinely stayed with Washington but could never really pull ahead, failing to capture a single set. UCLA never trailed by more than five and regularly pulled even with Washington in a match that saw 18 ties.
The Huskies scored first in each set and jumped out to early leads in the first two frames, forcing the Bruins to consistently play from behind. UCLA (13-12, 4-11 Pac-12) did little to help itself as it was plagued by mistakes throughout the match, much like its first encounter with Washington (22-1, 14-1). The Bruins committed 30 errors after committing 37 the first time they faced the Huskies.
However, all three sets were close down the stretch as the two teams were tied at 20-all in both the first and third sets, and UCLA trailed 20-19 late in the second. The Bruins proved to be their own worst enemy, as they were unable to overcome crucial errors late in all three frames.
Washington consistently took advantage of UCLA’s mistakes, capturing the first set after three straight attack errors by sophomore outside hitter Maddy Klineman, while an attack error by junior outside hitter Karsta Lowe gave the Huskies a 23-19 lead in the second. In a must-win third set, the Bruins again beat themselves. Despite leading for the vast majority of the set, UCLA coughed up the lead late, as three of the Huskies’ six final points came by way of Bruin errors.
The loss did come with some bright spots for UCLA, as Lowe led all players with 16 kills while senior outside hitter Kelly Reeves was third with 13. Additionally, Washington recorded just seven blocks, down from 15 in the teams’ initial matchup. However, with the end of conference play looming and the Bruins’ record in danger of slipping to .500 this late in the calendar, UCLA is in greater need of real victories as opposed to the moral variety.
UCLA will try to get its fifth conference victory of the season Friday when it takes on Washington State, whom it defeated 3-1 earlier in the year.
