Women’s volleyball sweeps Oregon State in final home games of regular season

Kelsey Campeau hadn’t played in her team’s first 16 games.

But when the junior defensive specialist/libero had her number called upon this weekend, she said she served with no fear.

Playing its final homestand of the season, No. 17 UCLA women’s volleyball (14-6, 14-6 Pac-12) avoided the upset and defeated unranked Oregon State (5-13, 5-13) 3-0 on Friday and 3-1 on Sunday. However, the Bruins found themselves down 21-18 late in the third set and at risk of losing their fourth straight Sunday match of the season.

Then, after a side-out kill by senior outside hitter/opposite Mac May to bring the score within two, Campeau checked into the game as a pinch server.

]She promptly shot a service ace across the net as Grace Massey – the Beavers’ defensive specialist/libero who is second in the Pac-12 for digs per set – failed to receive the ball.

“The coaches have been really awesome with encouraging us to still go for it,” Campeau said. “They just really don’t want us to go in with fear. They want us to go in and serve tough.”

Behind Campeau’s serving, UCLA went on to score six straight points and secure the set 25-21 before prevailing over Oregon State in the next frame. Campeau ended Sunday’s game with two service aces, both of which came in the third set.

The Bruins found themselves in a similar hole earlier Friday evening, down 19-21 in the second set. A side-out kill once again found Campeau behind the service line for her first appearance of the weekend series, and UCLA went on to win the set 25-22.

Coach Michael Sealy praised Campeau’s ability to serve, but he pointed out a different skill that propelled her into the lineup.

“We have three extra defensive specialists that can all do that job pretty well,” Sealy said. “Kelsey digs balls great, has a tough serve, but she actually sets a great out-of-system ball, … so she helps with that.”

Over the weekend, Campeau finished with three digs and two assists for her teammates.

With their two wins, the Bruins extended their winning streak over the Beavers to 25 straight matches. Since taking on head coaching duties in 2010, Sealy has yet to lose a match against Oregon State.

Despite years of history on his side, Sealy said Sunday’s contest had a different feel to it after dropping the first set.

“This is the first time that we were slow and not great out of the gate,” Sealy said. “That was a little unnerving at first. … It was a slow start. We kind of found some heart in the middle of set two and found a way to push through.”

Sunday also marked Senior Day for UCLA, and seniors middle blocker Sabrina Smith and outside hitter/opposite Alexis Light were honored in what could be their final home games as Bruins.

Smith, who delivered the final kill of Sunday’s game, reflected on the afternoon and her four years at UCLA.

“I think we all looked forward to this night,” Smith said. “It feels really good to win. It’s good to have my last game at Pauley (Pavilion end in a win).”

May, who is also a senior on the team, was not included in the day’s celebrations. The NCAA granted all 2020-2021 women’s volleyball players another season of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

UCLA will wrap up the regular season next weekend with two matches at Stanford.