UCLA
Washington State
Eight Straight for UCLA in Win at WSU
October 31, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
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PULLMAN, Wash. - Junior Jordan Anderson led all players with 20 kills, sophomore Reily Buechler added her fourth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 10 digs and freshman Zana Muno posted her team-leading eighth double-double with 37 assists and 12 digs, as the eighth-ranked Bruins won their eighth straight match with a four-set win at Washington State on Friday. Set scores were 25-13, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16.
The Bruins improved to 18-3 overall and 9-2 in Pac-12 play, while the Cougars fell to 14-9 and 3-8 in league action.
Along with her setting and defense, Muno added five kills and set the Bruins to a .271 hitting percentage. Junior Claire Felix posted six kills and six blocks, including three solos. Junior Taylor Formico added 17 digs, while senior Rachel Inouye posted eight.
The Bruins trailed just once at 2-1 in the opening set, coming back with three in a row on a Buechler/Felix block and back-to-back WSU attack errors to go up 4-2. After a Cougar sideout, the Bruins went on a 10-2 run to go up 14-5. Anderson had four kills during the run, Felix and Muno added one apiece and the Cougars committed four errors.
UCLA's lead got to double figures for the first time at 19-9 following an Inouye ace. The Bruins' largest lead was a dozen on several occasions, as a Muno kill closed out a 25-13 victory. Anderson led the Bruins with seven kills, while Formico added five digs, as the Bruins out-hit the Cougars .423 to .000.
The Cougars led for the first half of the second until the Bruins rallied to win the set by a handful. Trailing by as many as three at 12-9, UCLA closed out the set on a 16-8 run. A stretch of seven of eight for the Bruins came on two Buechler kills, a kill by redshirt junior Haley Lawless, a Felix solo block and three WSU errors.
After a sideout, kills by Buechler, Anderson and Felix and a Cougar attack error gave the Bruins a set-best, six-point lead at 20-14. The Bruins ended up winning the second set 25-20 on a Buechler kill, her fourth of the set. Anderson paced the Bruins with six kills, while Formico and Inouye each added four digs. UCLA out-hit Washington State .256 to .103.
The Bruins' biggest lead of the third was three, but the Cougars came back late to extend the match. UCLA held an advantage as late as 19-17 before Washington State scored six in a row to take a 23-19 lead. The Bruins rallied with four in a row on kills by Anderson and Muno, a Felix solo block and a Buechler ace. But the Cougars netted the last two of the third to win it 25-23. Buechler recorded five kills, while Felix added three. Buechler and Formico each had five digs, while Muno added four, as the Bruins out-hit the Cougars .171 to .136.
Trailing by one on three occasions in the fourth, the Bruins pulled away to win the match. Down 4-3, the Bruins got five straight on three Anderson kills, a Formico ace and a WSU attack error to make it 8-4 UCLA. The Cougars closed to within one at 9-8 before a 4-0 UCLA run on a WSU service error, a kill by freshman Kyra Rogers, an ace by senior Karly Drolson and a Buechler kill made it 13-8.
Leading 14-10, the Bruins took a set-best lead of 10 with a 6-0 run. Rogers, Muno and Buechler had kills, Felix and Buechler teamed up for a block and Washington State committed two errors. At 23-16, an Anderson kill and an Anderson solo block finished off the 25-16 win. Anderson and Buechler each had five kills in the fourth, while Muno added five digs, as the Bruins out-hit the Cougars .289 to .086.
The Bruins look to extend their winning streak to nine and end a 12-match losing streak in Seattle on Sunday at #5 Washington. The match starts at 11 a.m. and will air on Pac-12 Networks.
