Women’s volleyball defeats Oregon State in commanding sweep
Legendary coach Al Scates called the game for Pac-12 Network. He said that a set by redshirt junior Ryann Chandler was the greatest of the game. (Daily Bruin file photo)
For their first time in conference play, the Bruins have ended the week with a winning streak.
Following Wednesday’s victory over Oregon, No. 20 UCLA women’s volleyball (14-4, 5-3 Pac-12) took down unranked Oregon State (8-10, 1-6) in straight sets Friday.
“After our win against Oregon, we felt that our offense was really established,” said redshirt junior setter Ryann Chandler. “Everyone had a great opportunity to score tonight.”
[Related: Women’s volleyball defeats Oregon Ducks in five-set nailbiter]
UCLA entered the match with a first-set winning percentage of .588 and an overall winning percentage of .765, but the Bruins’ first game Friday was one of their cleanest of the season.
Four hitters notched at least three kills and UCLA only committed one error – good for a .395 hitting percentage and a 25-14 set-one win. Coach Michael Sealy said that his team’s ability to stay mentally engaged was a part of the dominant first-set performance.
“We were aware that we needed to start out strong,” said senior libero Taylor Formico. “We served tough in the first set and got them out of system, and it made our lives a lot easier.”
Sealy also mentioned that the Beavers started set one in a two-hitter rotation, making it easier for Bruin blockers to hone in on their opponents.
“One of their rotations seems to be their weakest, and they started in it. You’d have to ask their coach as to why, but they struggled,” Sealy said. “Taking advantage of them in their weaker rotation in the first play of the game was real beneficial to get that early lead.”
Set two did not feature the same dominance of set one, but the Bruins still came away with a 25-21 win.
Senior outside hitter Jordan Anderson committed three of her team’s eight set-two errors, as the Bruins hit .107. Sealy pulled Anderson in favor of sophomore outside hitter Kyra Rogers right after the third error.
Sealy stuck with Rogers for set three, in which the Bruins faced a mid-set deficit for the first time all evening. Down 13-17, UCLA went on a 8-1 run – riding four kills from freshman opposite Torrey Van Winden – to go up 21-18.
Sealy said that he was happy to see his setters keeping from telegraphing their offense and not defaulting to the outside hitters on long rallies.
“He’s told us to be a lot more creative with our offense,” Chandler said. “I think that’s allowed us to open up the offense and a lot of our hitters are getting one-on-ones.”
The Beavers called a timeout, but the halt in play couldn’t stop UCLA from taking set three 25-20 to sweep the match.
