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Stanford
18th-Ranked Bruins Drop Three-Set Decision to #1 Stanford
November 14, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
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LOS ANGELES - Senior Karsta Lowe led all players with 21 kills and added nine digs, while sophomore Taylor Formico recorded a match-best 16 digs, but the 18th-ranked Bruins dropped a three-set decision to #1 Stanford on Thursday at the John Wooden Center. Set scores were 21-25, 24-26, 22-25.
The Bruins (17-9, 8-7 Pac-12) hit .229 for the match. Freshman Reily Buechler had nine kills, while sophomore Claire Felix added six. Senior Julie Consani recorded 33 assists and seven digs, junior Rachel Inouye posted six digs and junior Karly Drolson added five digs.
Stanford, which improved to 26-0 (16-0 Pac-12) to remain the nation's lone unbeaten team, led throughout the first set, scoring the first three points, five of the first six and eight of the first 10. The Cardinal's largest lead was eight at 18-10. UCLA would rally to get to within three, but could get no closer. At 22-15, a 4-0 Bruin run on a Lowe kill and ace and two Cardinal attack errors made it 22-19. But the teams sided out the rest of the opener, as Stanford won it 25-21. Lowe had seven of the Bruins' 14 kills, Felix added three kills and Formico posted six digs. The Bruins were out-hit .333 to .273.
The Bruins jumped out to an early lead in set two, the Cardinal came back, but in the end in a set with 11 ties and three lead changes, Stanford went up 2-0 in the match. Trailing 3-2, UCLA scored six in a row. The first three of the run came on a Lowe kill, a Felix solo block and a Drolson ace, which was followed by back-to-back Buechler kills and a combo roof from Consani and Felix. Stanford came back with the next five to even things up, but the Bruins brought their lead back up to three at 13-10. Equal at 10, a service error and kills from redshirt sophomore Haley Lawless and Lowe put UCLA up by three.
With the Bruins up 16-14, an 8-1 Stanford run gave the visitors a 22-17 advantage. UCLA stayed in it though thanks to a 5-0 run on a Lowe kill, a Consani ace, a Buechler kill and back-to-back solo blocks, first by senior Zoë Nightingale and then Lowe, to make it 22-all. After three sideouts, Stanford had a set point at 24-23, but a Lowe kill evened things at 24. However, the Cardinal scored the next two to win the second 26-24. Lowe had eight kills to lead the Bruins, while Buechler added five with no errors. Formico recorded six more digs in the second, as the Bruins were out-hit .279 to .180.
The Bruins held the lead throughout most of set three, but Stanford came back to wrap up the sweep. The Bruins scored the first three points on a Stanford attack error and kills by Lowe and freshman Olga Strantzali. Tied at four, two Lowe kills and a Felix kill put the Bruins up by three again, but Stanford would tie it up at seven. At 12-10, Stanford scored three straight to go up by one, but successive errors put the Bruins ahead by one at 14-13. After ties at 14, 15 and 16, a Buechler kill and two Stanford errors gave the home team a 19-16 edge.
Stanford rallied with a 5-1 run to go back up by one at 21-20, but a service error and a Lowe kill pushed the Bruins up again by a point. However, Stanford scored the last four points of the match to close out the third with a 25-22 win. Lowe again led the Bruins with six kills, while Buechler added three, as the Bruins were out-hit .324 to .257.
The Bruins host California at the John Wooden Center on Sunday at 11 a.m. Free video and live stats will be available at UCLABruins.com.
