Women’s volleyball voyages up to Washington in hope of extending win streak

The last time the Bruins beat the Huskies in Seattle was in 2003.

Coming off three straight victories, No. 20 UCLA women’s volleyball (10-5, 5-3 Pac-12) will travel to face No. 19 Washington (13-6, 5-4) and No. 23 Washington State (13-5, 4-4). The Bruins take on the Huskies on Friday night and the Cougars on Sunday afternoon.

Coach Michael Sealy said the lineup he has recently utilized has been the most consistent so far this season.

“I have never beaten Washington since I’ve been here so I’m really excited to play them,” said senior middle blocker Kyra Rogers. “(We’ll just be) focusing on coming out really strong and aggressive so we don’t get in a hole in the beginning.”

Rogers has hit .424 during the winning streak, better than her .279 average for the season. The Bruins are hitting .213 – below the Huskies’ .221 percentage and a .218 percentage for the Cougars in Pac-12 play.

Washington has won nine straight matches against UCLA and 15 consecutive at the Alaska Airlines Arena. The Bruins are 54-9 all time against the Washington State Cougars.

“Washington has always been a kind of system team,” Sealy said. “They work like a machine and you have to pick them apart. Washington State is really big and physical and they have some middles that are running some really precise balls behind the setter.”

In preparation for the road trip, Sealy said that the focus in recent practices has been on improving side out numbers.

“Our passing is doing really well,” said redshirt freshman outside hitter Alexis Light. “Just keeping the ball off the ground, getting better at receiving tips to give our offense more opportunities.”

UCLA is leading the conference in digs per set at 17.21, while Washington is last at 13.47. The Bruins are also first in service aces per set during conference play at 1.52.

Sophomore outside hitter Mac May is leading the league with 0.56 aces per set in Pac-12 play along with a team-high 3.70 kills per set.

May will be up against two of the top six hitters in the conference in terms of kills per set. Washington outside hitter Kara Bajema has recorded 3.99 kills per set with a .228 hitting percentage, while Washington State outside hitter Taylor Mims has notched 3.97 kills per set at a .243 hitting percentage.

UCLA is currently tied for third in the Pac-12 with Oregon, while Washington is fourth and Washington State is tied for fifth. Both Washington teams are coming off two-game losing streaks.

“We’re starting to click and play together as a team,” Light said. “We’ve had really solid practices so we’re excited to get playing.”