UCLA women’s volleyball records first home sweep of season against Michigan State
Junior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette goes up for a spike at Pauley Pavilion. Against Michigan State on Saturday, Leverette led the Bruins with 14 kills. (Aidan Sun/Assistant Photo editor)
Women's Volleyball
Michigan State | 0 |
UCLA | 3 |
By Rahaf Abumansour
Oct. 27, 2024 9:41 p.m.
This post was updated Oct. 27 at 11:10 p.m.
A 3-5 conference record may not seem intimidating.
But Saturday afternoon, the Bruins took a step to change the narrative about holding their own in the Big Ten.
In game two of a three-game homestand, UCLA women’s volleyball (10-9, 4-6 Big Ten) swept Michigan State (8-13, 1-9) on Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion, marking the Bruins’ first home sweep of the season.
“This was just the turning point for us, just the start of what we’re looking toward for the next half,” said junior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette. “We’ve earned the opportunity to start taking these games. We’ve done so much work, and the time is now. It’s no more waiting.”
Just two days after its loss to Penn State, UCLA rebounded. In the first set, the team hit a collective .625 to secure a 25-17 victory, tallying 17 kills with just two errors.
Leverette took charge with 14 kills, the result of additional hours she’s spent in the gym.
“This young lady here has been training and working on some attacking and hitting the goal high,” said coach Alfee Reft.
Despite fears of the match extending into a fourth or fifth set – a challenge the team has faced before – the Bruins maintained composure. They won the first two sets by optimizing their offensive numbers, both hitting above a .350 clip and minimizing errors to six. However, Michigan State pushed back in the third set, hitting .273 with just three errors to UCLA’s .195 clip with seven.
The Bruins dug themselves into a hole by recording more errors in the third set than in the first two combined, but managed to climb their way out to pull out a win. With the score at 20-23 in favor of the home team, sophomore libero Kat Lutz scraped the floor to keep the point alive. Graduate student middle blocker Anna Dodson then delivered a kill, followed up by a block alongside redshirt freshman middle blocker Brooklyn Briscoe, that pushed UCLA back in the win column.
“There’s this continued conversation about how we’re learning (from) these really gut-wrenching losses and using that as information moving forward,” Reft said. “So our team was better tonight in that. I think we didn’t rest or give any space for Michigan State to really come back in, and that’s something we’ve been talking about.”
The match was also part of UCLA’s Adoption Day awareness event, where foster families and children were invited to watch the game and learn more about adoption in California. Lutz, who actively participates in adoption advocacy, said Saturday’s win had a deeper impact.
“It was really awesome, inviting a bunch of kids and their foster families from LA County and to see them come to the game,” Lutz said. “They’re fighting so hard and it gives us a cause to fight for, knowing not every situation is perfect, but with the love and support of families and community, it can make the biggest difference.”
The Bruins will next return to action for a spooky edition of Los Angeles’ crosstown rivalry on Thursday – this time at home.