Women’s volleyball earns weekend wins over Arizona State and Arizona
By Steven Breazeale
Nov. 14, 2010 12:52 a.m.
The UCLA women’s volleyball team earned a pair of wins this weekend after defeating Arizona State on Friday night in three sets and beating Arizona in four on Saturday.
On Saturday, the Bruins found their offensive stride and played a much more organized style of volleyball against Arizona on Collins Court in the Wooden Center.
After dominating the first set and dropping the second ““ the Bruins’ only dropped set of the weekend ““ No. 10 UCLA (19-7, 9-6 Pac-10) stormed back in the next two sets and regained their form from the first.
Senior outside hitter Dicey McGraw swung away and recorded six kills in the third. Coach Mike Sealy decided to use junior middle blocker Sara Sage for the first time all weekend, and Sage played a huge role in the Bruins’ blocking effort up front. In the last two sets, Sage notched seven kills, three digs and a double block in limited playing time.
Behind McGraw, who had 23 kills, and Sage, the Bruins coasted through the third and fourth sets and won the match, 25-19, 21-25, 25-17 and 25-14.
In October, the Sun Devils handed the Bruins a surprising defeat. Friday, UCLA had its way with Arizona State in a three-set sweep.
The effort was truly a defensive one, led by junior libero Lainey Gera. In a historic performance, Gera tied a school record for digs in a three-set match with 28.
