UCLA women’s volleyball sweeps Cal behind strong defensive effort
Middle blocker Sabrina Smith recorded three kills on just six attempts and added one solo block and five block assists. The freshman took over for sophomore Madeleine Gates who was sidelined due to an abdominal injury. (Pinkie Su/Daily Bruin)
By Gwyneth Teo
Oct. 15, 2017 6:54 p.m.
Mac May recorded four kills before California scored its first point.
UCLA women’s volleyball won the first 11 points of the match Saturday.
“We just got them in a tough rotation,” said coach Michael Sealy. “We served well and played good defense.”
No. 12 UCLA (12-5, 5-3 Pac 12) swept California (11-8, 2-6) at home Saturday after falling in four sets to No. 3 Stanford the previous night.
May, a freshman opposite, registered a match-high 12 kills with seven digs and three blocks. The Bruins saw an overall .323 hitting percentage – an improvement on their .121 against the Cardinal.
After the Bruins’ 11-0 run, the Golden Bears fought back hard to trim their deficit to five, but UCLA still took the set 25-16.
The second set featured eight ties and four lead changes.
“We were starting to miss serves, we should always keep the pressure on them, but we weren’t,” said senior opposite Reily Buechler. “We weren’t doing the things we should be doing.”
The Golden Bears were leading 18-16 before the Bruins scored three in a row off a May kill and two California errors. UCLA never trailed again and took the second set 25-22 and the third 25-15. The Bruins held the Golden Bears to a hitting percentage of .077 in the third.
Freshman middle blocker Sabrina Smith said the team learned some things from Friday’s match that they were able to put into play Saturday.
Buechler said that because Stanford’s block is bigger than California’s, UCLA had to adjust its defense. Buechler produced nine kills, six digs and three blocks.
Two of UCLA’s usual starters, junior libero Zana Muno and sophomore middle blocker Madeleine Gates, were sidelined because of a sickness and an abdominal injury, respectively.
Gates’ replacement, Smith, recorded three kills and six blocks.
“It was cool to have the opportunity to go in to play with the team,” Smith said. “There was just like really good energy on the court, so I came out just ready to show what I can do.”
With Muno out, sophomore defensive specialist Savvy Simo took on the libero position. Freshman defensive specialist Anne Crouch played in the back row for May in Simo’s usual spot.
“(Smith and Crouch) have a lot of energy and bring so much fun to the court,” Buechler said. “We just try to talk to them as much as possible, give them feedback, because they’re so new and don’t understand as much as we do.”
