Friday, March 29, 2024

AdvertiseDonateSubmit
NewsSportsArtsOpinionThe QuadPhotoVideoIllustrationsCartoonsGraphicsThe StackPRIMEEnterpriseInteractivesPodcastsBruinwalkClassifieds

Women’s volleyball splits matches against Oregon, recording 1st loss of season

Senior outside/opposite hitter Mac May led the Bruins with 38 kills as the No. 19 team in the country split its games in Eugene to move its record to 3-1. (Alex Driscoll/Daily Bruin staff)

Women's Volleyball


No. 19 UCLA3
Oregon1
No. 19 UCLA0
Oregon3

By Lexi Grimes

Jan. 31, 2021 7:01 p.m.

This post was updated Jan. 31 at 10:35 p.m.

The Bruins were unable to replicate the success they had at home while on the road this weekend.

Following its two wins in Westwood, No. 19 UCLA women’s volleyball (3-1) split its matches against Oregon (2-2) while in Eugene. The Bruins were able to defeat the Ducks in four sets in the first match Friday but fell in three sets in Sunday’s match.

UCLA got off to an early lead in the first set Friday, recording six kills to go up 9-3. The team ended the set with 18 kills in its eventual 25-20 win.

Coming off their opening set victory, the Bruins weren’t able to run out to the same early lead in the second set, at one point trailing the Ducks 11-6. However, UCLA fought back to tie the score at 12-12, before defeating Oregon 25-20 in the set.

A 7-4 advantage kicked off the third set for the Bruins, but a nine-point run in response by the Ducks helped Oregon to a 25-19 win in the third set.

In the fourth set of the first match, four errors by the home team allowed UCLA to begin with an early 6-0 lead. Both teams went on to record six errors each, while the Bruins also recorded a seven-point run that led them to the 25-13 victory.

In the first match, UCLA recorded a hitting percentage of .270, compared to Oregon’s .117, despite recording one less error. However, coach Michael Sealy said he was not concerned with the high number of mistakes made by his team.

“We had a high hitting percentage – I think that level of errors is probably OK,” Sealy said. “You can’t have both at the same time, so the errors have to be acceptable if you are hitting .270 as a team.”

On Sunday, in the second match of the weekend, the Bruins were not quite as successful.

In the first set of the match, neither team was able to get out to an early lead, with 14 ties throughout the set. After being tied 23-23, the Ducks scored the last two points of the set and recorded a 25-23 victory.

The second set showed much of the same, with seven tied scores. Despite Oregon never earning more than a three-point lead in the set, the team eventually won the set 25-22, extending its lead in the match to 2-0.

The third set of the match saw the Ducks establish an early 12-7 lead over the Bruins, before winning the final set 25-19, their largest margin of victory of the day.

UCLA recorded a hitting percentage more than double that of Oregon’s during its Friday night victory, but the second match saw the Ducks increase their hitting percentage to .310, while the Bruins’ percentage fell to .169, a season low. UCLA’s kill numbers also decreased from Friday to Sunday, with the Bruins recording 38 in the loss after recording 61 in the win.

Senior outside/opposite hitter Mac May, who led UCLA in kills for both matches, attributed the change in end results to a difference in Oregon’s game plan, and a lack of change in the visitor’s.

“The Ducks definitely came out a lot stronger Sunday,” May said. “We came out with not a lot of changes, expecting to take the win again.”

Following their first loss of the season, UCLA will only have a few days to make adjustments before leaving for another two conference road games at Washington State (3-1) on Thursday and Sunday.

“It’s a quick turnaround,” Sealy said. “We will figure out where we are not executing and fix that on the one day of practice we have.”

Share this story:FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Lexi Grimes | Sports reporter
Grimes is currently a Sports reporter on the men's soccer beat. She was previously a contributor on the beach volleyball, men's soccer and women's volleyball beats.
Grimes is currently a Sports reporter on the men's soccer beat. She was previously a contributor on the beach volleyball, men's soccer and women's volleyball beats.
COMMENTS
Featured Classifieds
More classifieds »
Related Posts