No. 21 women’s volleyball frustrated after sweep from No. 25 Washington
Junior defensive specialist Savvy Simo recorded four digs in the Bruins’ match Saturday against Washington. UCLA fell to the Huskies in straight sets, marking its third consecutive loss. (Jocelyn Dao/Daily Bruin)
By Riley Segal
Nov. 11, 2018 5:08 p.m.
Michael Sealy’s words underscored the Bruins’ disappointment Saturday night.
“It was an embarrassment for the program, an embarrassment for the school, and I think every single one of us has some ownership in that,” the coach said.
No. 21 UCLA women’s volleyball (12-11, 7-9 Pac-12) was swept by No. 25 Washington (17-9, 9-7) in three sets at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins previously beat the Huskies 3-1in Washington on Oct. 19.
“We’re not doing what is expected of us at UCLA,” Sealy said. “We’re not doing what we all came here for. There’s a million schools; if you want to go have fun go to that school. But there are standards here, there’s expectations that the people before us have set. It’s our job to meet those standards.”
The Bruins could not get a handle on the Huskies in the first set, falling 25-15. After UCLA lost its 4-1 lead, Washington went on a 10-point run before the Bruins responded.
UCLA narrowed the score to 12-10, but that was the closest it would be for the rest of the set. The Bruins were outhit .273 to .087 and allowed six Husky aces.
“They are a team that prides themselves on their serves,” junior defensive specialist Savvy Simo said. “We maybe weren’t as dialed in as possible. In order to pass those balls you’ve got be really focused and locked in, and I don’t think we were.”
The two teams were tied 17-17 late in the second set. UCLA shrank its point deficit with four kills and two aces from sophomore outside hitter Mac May and three kills and five blocks from junior middle blocker Madeleine Gates. However, Washington slotted kills into holes in the Bruins’ defense to defeat UCLA 25-22.
The Bruins continued to struggle with their serve receive during the third set.
“We just passed horribly,” Sealy said. “They serve tough at times and they picked on everybody, it wasn’t like it was just one person. I think everybody had some issues.”
Simo replaced senior Zana Muno as libero in the third set, which Sealy said was due to Simo’s higher passing percentage. However, the position change did not change the outcome for the Bruins.
UCLA’s hits got dug or entangled in the Huskies’ blocks, leading to the Bruin’s lowest hitting percentage of the game at .062. Two consecutive Husky kills ended the set at 25-15.
“(It was) definitely a tough (loss) for sure,” Simo said. “I think it’s very apparent and we just got ripped in the locker room for it, but I think we needed it because it was a rude awakening for us. We still need to perform to make the tournament so I think that was very eye-opening.”
No Bruin reached double digit kills, as May had just nine and Gates followed with seven. Mac also had the highest number of digs at nine, with the next highest being eight from Muno and junior setter Kylie Miller.
“I do think that defense is a really important part of our game and it wasn’t our best night on that side tonight,” Gates said. “They’ve really helped us in other matches so it was the offense’s turn to pick up the team, but that didn’t quite happen.”
UCLA will play its next game on the road against Arizona State on Friday.
