Women’s volleyball gears up for match up against Golden Bears
Junior libero Taylor Formico (center) and the Bruins travel to Berkeley for a weekend matchup against California. UCLA is undefeated away from home with a 4-0 record on the road and a 4-0 mark at neutral sites in 2015. (Jose Ubeda/ Daily Bruin staff)
By Amit Nainani
Sept. 25, 2015 7:15 a.m.
After its first loss of the season, the UCLA women’s volleyball team responded with an eight-game winning streak.
After its second loss – a straight-set thumping at the hands of No. 3 USC – No. 13 UCLA (9-2, 0-1 Pac-12) hopes to respond in a similar manner and rekindle its winning ways against the California Golden Bears (6-6, 0-1 Pac-12) Sunday at noon.
The trip to Berkeley may be just what the Bruins need to get back in the win column, as they are undefeated away from home with a 4-0 record on the road and a 4-0 mark at neutral sites.
Recent history is on UCLA’s side as it was able to win both matchups against Cal last year, dropping only one set while winning six. In last year’s visit to Berkeley, the Bruins bested the Bears in hitting percentage .279 to .179.
UCLA did not hit so well on Wednesday night, posting a season-low hitting percentage of .056 against its crosstown rival. The match also snapped a streak of 10 straight games in which at least one UCLA player recorded double-digit kills.
The Bruins will be looking for bounce-back efforts from some of its key offensive hitters. Redshirt junior Haley Lawless, junior Jordan Anderson and sophomore Reily Buechler combined for just 20 kills on a combined .037 hitting percentage against the Trojans.
The Golden Bears are hosting the Bruins as part of a four-game homestand, the third of which resulted in a 3-1 loss to the No. 8 Stanford Cardinal. Cal’s balanced attack was led by senior middle blocker Lara Vukasovic, redshirt senior Lillian Schonewise and sophomore outside hitter Christine Alftin who each recorded double-digit kills in the match.
If the Bruins can prevent those three from taking over the match, they can expect to have a good chance at starting another winning streak.
Compiled by Amit Nainani, Bruin Sports contributor.
