Women’s volleyball maximizes flexibility with rotating player lineup
Redshirt senior Haley Lawless got the starting nod against her hometown team, Arizona State, after teammate Zana Muno struggled to put the ball away. The 6-foot-3 pin hitter gives coach Michael Sealy more height on the outside. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Kelsey Angus
Nov. 14, 2016 9:30 p.m.
Through various rotation and personnel changes, the three-hitter combination of junior Reily Buechler, senior Jordan Anderson and freshman Torrey Van Winden have remained a constant presence swinging at the pins.
But there are four spots to fill, and three different attackers have slotted into that last spot since the start of conference play.
Coach Michael Sealy of the No. 9 UCLA women’s volleyball team (21-5, 12-4 Pac-12) initially went for the finesse and ball-control of sophomore Zana Muno when he first switched to a 6-2.
Muno, however, stands at just 5-foot-10, making it difficult for her to pose an offensive threat or to put up a big block.
In the Bruins’ loss to Arizona, Muno only recorded one kill on 15 attempts, and Sealy switched to redshirt senior Hayley Lawless for Arizona State in favor of her size – Lawless is listed at 6-foot-3. Sealy also switched Buechler to the opposite spot in this match.
[Related: Arizona breaks UCLA women’s volleyball’s win streak in straight sets]
Because senior libero Taylor Formico substitutes in for both of the outside hitters in the Bruins’ newest rotation, Sealy no longer needs his outside hitters to be strong passers. Instead, he is able to select the hitter based on purely a hitting and blocking standpoint.
“As soon as you switch Reily to opposite, (Rogers) and Hayley both become viable options in that spot,” Sealy said.
Lawless recorded two kills for a percentage of .100 against Arizona State, prompting Sealy to try sophomore Kyra Rogers last weekend against California.
Rogers tallied five kills and three blocks in the sweep, and Sealy said that she was instrumental in shutting down the Golden Bears’ strongest hitter.
“It really helps having Kyra in there,” Van Winden said. “I mean, she did amazing coming back home.”
Sealy mentioned that both players “did great” in their hometowns – with Lawless hailing from Tempe, Arizona and Rogers having gone to high school in Roseville, California. The Bruins play two games back in Westwood this week.
The main strengths of using Rogers is her versatility – she played middle blocker in high school and has played all three front row positions for UCLA – and the speed of her attack.
After the Bruins’ win over Utah, Sealy said that Lawless is the best right-side blocker on the team, and he has shown a willingness to mix and match his pin hitters to different sides of the net.
“The other beauty of Reily playing next to Lawless or Kyra is that either one of them can go left and either one of them can go right so you have a lot of flexibility,” Sealy said.
[Related: Women’s volleyball sweeps Utes for second time this season]
The two split time in the Stanford match, with Rogers starting the match and Lawless coming in for the end of the fourth set and the entirety of the fifth. Rogers hit only -.182 during her time on the court, while Lawless came up with a kill on the only swing she took.
This week, the Bruins face Oregon State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion and Oregon on Friday at 7 p.m. in the John Wooden Center.
