Women’s volleyball defeats Arizona twice, establishes 4-match win streak

The Bruins currently have their longest winning streak of the season.

Playing two matches at Pauley Pavilion, No. 15 UCLA women’s volleyball (9-3) defeated Arizona (4-8) 3-1 on Friday and 3-0 on Sunday. The Bruins have now won their last four matches and have only lost two of their past 14 sets.

Coach Michael Sealy said his team has had difficulties with the Wildcats in the past.

“(Arizona) always plays us tough,” Sealy said. “They have been our kryptonite over the last decade.”

The Wildcats started the first set Friday with an early 7-2 lead before the Bruins quickly recorded 12 kills and one service ace, allowing them to establish a 20-14 lead. However, Arizona scored 12 of the last 16 points, including the final five points of the set, beating UCLA 26-24.

The Bruins scored the first point of the following set and were able to maintain a lead over the Wildcats for the entirety of the set after a tie at 1-1. The team recorded 12 kills and three service aces in its 25-18 win.

Freshman setter/opposite Kate Lane said the team was resilient and never stopped fighting after its defeat in the first set.

“We had a slow start – we came back in that first set and lost and the last two points were rough,” Lane said. “But we came back strong and fighting. Everyone was on their blocking and defense assignments, and I think that really helped.”

In the third set, UCLA established an early 8-4 lead, but four errors by the Bruins allowed the Wildcats to tie the score at 15. The two teams exchanged the next several points, leading to a tied score of 22-22 before UCLA scored the last three points and secured a 25-22 victory.

Two early service aces in the fourth allowed the Bruins to establish another early lead against the Wildcats, this time leading 12-5. However, Arizona scored 11 of the next 12 points, giving it a three-point lead. Three more service aces allowed the Bruins to tie the score at 20 apiece before they defeated the Wildcats 27-25 and won the first match of the weekend.

On Sunday, UCLA defeated Arizona in all three sets of the match.

In the first set, the Bruins established an early 11-4 lead and maintained at least a four-point lead against the Wildcats for the rest of their 25-14 win. They recorded 15 kills and two service aces in the opening set.

UCLA was able to get out to another early lead in the second set, leading Arizona 12-4. The Bruins kept the pressure on the Wildcats, never trailing on their way to a 25-19 victory.

In the third set, there were a total of 13 tied scores – the last of which came at 20-20. However, the Bruins were able to score the last five points, winning them both the set and the match.

Despite UCLA’s victories over the past two weeks, Sealy said the team still has areas where it needs to improve.

“In general, we definitely let up a little bit too much,” Sealy said. “We came back in the first set, got a nice lead and then gave it away at the end. In situations that we should be in control in, we’re just not staying tough enough and aggressive enough to hold a lot of those leads.”

The Bruins are now more than halfway through their season and can extend their current four-game winning streak in the upcoming matches.

“We have a lot of big games coming up,” said junior outside hitter/opposite élan McCall. “We just have to execute our game plan and be worried about us and not so much worried about what’s happening on the other side of the court.”

UCLA has a pair of road games against Colorado next weekend before hosting No. 7 Utah in two weeks.