University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Virginia
#20 UCLA Victorious in Opener
August 30, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
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LOS ANGELES - The 20th-ranked Bruins opened the 2015 season on a victorious note by sweeping Virginia on Saturday at the John Wooden Center. Set scores were 25-19, 25-21, 25-16.
Sophomore Reily Buechler led all players with 13 kills, adding four blocks and two aces, while junior Jordan Anderson, in her first match with the Bruins, added 12 kills. The Bruin middles combined for 16 kills and just one error in 30 attempts to go with eight blocks. Junior Claire Felix had nine kills and one error in 15 swings for a .533 hitting percentage with five roofs, while junior Jennie Frager added seven kills and no errors in 15 attempts (.467, tied career high) with three stuffs.
Redshirt sophomore Ryann Chandler, also in her first UCLA match, produced 38 assists and four digs. Senior Rachel Inouye added 14 digs, while junior Taylor Formico recorded 10. The Bruins hit .294 for the match with eight blocks.
The first set was a back-and-forth affair, with 13 ties and five lead changes. Trailing 14-13, the Bruins scored five of six to take an 18-15 edge, with the points coming on kills by Anderson, Felix, Frager and redshirt junior Haley Lawless and a Virginia attack error. The Cavaliers netted the next two, but UCLA responded with three straight on kills by Felix and Anderson and a bad UVA set to extend its advantage to four at 21-17.
With the score 21-18, the Bruins ended the opener on a 4-1 run to win it 25-19. Anderson and Chandler kills made it 23-18, and after a sideout, another Anderson kill and a Frager/Lawless combo block completed the six-point win. Anderson led the Bruins with six kills, Felix added five on six attempts and Frager notched three. The Bruins out-hit the Cavaliers .351 to .226.
The start of set two saw Virginia jump out to an early 6-3 advantage, but an 8-2 Bruin spurt put the home team up 11-8. The first four points came on two Frager kills, a Buechler kill and a Frager/Lawless block. The back four points of the run started with a Lawless kill and continued with a Buechler/Felix roof, a Frager ace and a UVA attack error.
The Bruins' lead swelled to as much as seven on several occasions, as the Cavaliers got to within three, but could get no closer. A Frager kill on the Bruins' second set point closed out a 25-21 victory. Frager had a 4-0-8 hitting line, while Anderson and Buechler each added three kills. The Bruins won the set despite getting out-hit .226 to .212.
Set three was similar to the one prior, as Virginia raced out to an early lead, only to see the Bruins make a run and win in a rout. After the Bruins scored the first two points of the third, Virginia charged back with a 10-4 run to go up 10-6. But following a well-timed timeout, UCLA made its run. Four straight Buechler kills tied things at 10, and after a sideout, an additional 6-0 run put the Bruins up 16-11. Felix had two kills, Buechler added one and the duo teamed up on a pair of blocks, with a UVA error accounting for the sixth point.
That 10-1 run was just the beginning, as the Bruins would close the match on a 19-6 run. At 18-13, four in a row on kills by Felix, Buechler and Anderson and a Formico ace made it 22-13. UCLA raised its advantage to 10 at 24-14, and on its third match point, a service error by Virginia wrapped up the 25-16 win. Buechler had eight of the Bruins' 14 kills in the third, while Anderson and Felix (three each) combined for the other half dozen. Inouye added eight digs, while Formico posted five. The Bruins out-hit the Cavaliers .312 to .162.
The Bruins conclude their opening weekend on Sunday at 5 p.m. against Loyola Marymount at the John Wooden Center. The match will feature a free video stream and live stats on UCLABruins.com.
