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Oregon
Lowe Goes for Over 20 Again, but #17 UCLA Falls to #14 Oregon
November 22, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
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EUGENE, Ore. - Senior Karsta Lowe led all players with 22 kills, adding eight digs, but the 17th-ranked Bruins fell at #14 Oregon on Friday in three sets at Matthew Knight Arena. Set scores were 25-20, 25-22, 33-31.
Sophomore Claire Felix added eight kills, a .389 hitting percentage and five blocks, sophomore Taylor Formico recorded 16 digs and freshman Reily Buechler posted seven kills. Senior Megan Moenoa started the first two sets and had 20 assists, while senior Julie Consani opened the third and posted 18 assists. Junior Karly Drolson had five digs. The Bruins (18-10, 9-8 Pac-12) hit .203 for the match.
Down 2-1 early in set one, the Bruins scored five straight on a kill by redshirt sophomore Haley Lawless, an Oregon (20-7, 10-7) attack error, a Lowe ace, a Felix/Lawless block and another Lowe ace to go up 6-2. The Bruins' largest lead was four on two occasions, as they also held a 12-8 edge. That is when Oregon made its comeback, going on a 6-1 run to go up 14-13.
Despite ties at 14 and 15, the Bruins could not regain the lead. At 15-all, an 8-3 Duck run put things out of reach, as the home team won the opener 25-20. Felix had four kills and no errors in five attempts with three blocks in the first, while Lowe added three kills and two aces. Formico added five digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .250 to .135.
Set two had a similar feeling for the Bruins, who led for most of the set until a late Oregon comeback put the home team up 2-0 in the match. After dropping the first point of the set, the Bruins notched the next four on two Lowe kills, a Felix/Lowe block and an Oregon attack error. The Ducks came back to re-take the lead at 6-5, but a 7-1 UCLA run put the visitors up 12-7. Felix had a kill and teamed up with Moenoa on a block, Buechler and Lowe added kills and the Bruins benefitted from three Oregon errors.
The Bruins still led by four as late as 16-12, but Oregon ended the set on a 13-6 run. An 8-2 run put the Ducks up 20-18, as Oregon's advantage grew to as many as four on a pair of occasions, winning the second 25-22. Lowe paced the Bruins with seven of the team's 13 kills. The Bruins were out-hit .367 to .273.
Set three featured 17 ties, six lead changes, three set points for the Bruins and six match points for the Ducks, who eventually won to finish off the sweep. Neither team led by more than three points. After losing the first two points of the set, a 5-1 UCLA run put the visitors up. Lowe had two kills, freshman Olga Strantzali added one and the Ducks had two errors. The Bruins had three-point leads at 10-7 and 11-8, but Oregon responded with an 8-2 run to take a three-point lead at 16-13.
At 21-18, three in a row for the Bruins on a Buechler kill, a Consani ace and a Lowe kill evened things at 21. After an Oregon sideout, a block by Lowe and senior Zoë Nightingale and a Lowe kill made it 23-22. The Bruins had set points at 24-23 after a Nightingale kill, 25-24 following a Strantzali kill and 26-25 after a Lowe kill, but the Ducks saved all the attempts. In turn, the Ducks had their first five match points turned away on a Felix kill at 27-26, Oregon errors at 28-27 and 29-28 and Lowe kills at 30-29 and 31-30. But Oregon scored the next two and won the third 33-31. Lowe had 12 of the Bruins' 21 kills, while Buechler added three. Formico had eight digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .273 to .207.
The Bruins take on Oregon State in Corvallis on Saturday at 7 p.m. A live video stream and live stats will be available on UCLABruins.com.
