It was a weekend of mixed results for the Bruins.

But at a game below .500 for the second time this season, you might say it’s just been that type of year.

UCLA women’s volleyball (11-12, 5-9 Big Ten) split its two games on the East Coast, defeating Rutgers (5-20, 0-14) 3-0 in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Thursday, only to lose 3-1 to Maryland (12-13, 3-11) in College Park, Maryland, on Saturday night.

UCLA breezed past Rutgers on Thursday to mark its eighth sweep of the season and first since a clean thrashing of Michigan State on Oct. 26 at Pauley Pavilion.

“I thought physically we passed the ball well,” said coach Alfee Reft. “I thought we ran a good offense, we were pretty sharp and I thought our team was just clean in that match and we played a sharp match.”

The Bruins outmatched the Scarlet Knights both offensively and defensively, with 48 kills compared to Rutgers’ 31 and eight blocks to their foes’ six.

Graduate student setter Audrey Pak, who missed the previous two games due to an undisclosed injury, made her return to the Bruin lineup Thursday.

“The time away just made me really grateful to be back with the team and grateful to be healthy and playing,” Pak said.

The veteran playmaker dished out 29 assists through the duel – and despite the number being on the lower end of her typical output this season, it was just one shy of Rutgers’ team total.

The Bruins held the Scarlet Knights to no more than 20 points in any set, simultaneously restricting them to a .200 hitting percentage through the affair, with no set exceeding a .280 clip.

But this fortune didn’t favor the Bruins on Saturday.

“It was a different kind of match, a very different game, a really gritty, scrappy defensive team that just didn’t allow the ball to fall,” Reft said. “Hats off to Maryland for the quality type of volleyball, they were playing a relentless escape.”

Pak anchored the offense – amassing 44 assists – as junior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette, graduate student middle hitter Leilani Dodson and graduate student middle blocker Anna Dodson posted each chalked up double-digit kills.

“We’ve spent a lot of time working on the flow of our offense,” Dodson said. “Having Audrey back was wonderful, she just put me in really good positions, which was super helpful.”

However, the numbers couldn’t match Maryland and its pin hitter Samantha Schnitta, who delivered a standout performance with a career-high 22 kills.

Maryland pushed UCLA to the edge in each set and outmatched it in kills, blocks, aces, digs and assists.

After stifling the Scarlet Knights’ attack, the Bruins were held to a .263 hitting percentage – down from Thursday’s .319 – and were forced to cap a three-game road series with a blunder.