UCLA
UC Santa Barbara
#17 UCLA Makes It Six Straight
September 13, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - For the third match in a row, junior Jordan Anderson led the 17th-ranked Bruins in kills with 14, producing a .387 hitting percentage, as UCLA swept UC Santa Barbara on Sunday at The Thunderdome. Set scores were 25-19, 27-25, 25-23.
The Bruins improve to 7-1, while the Gauchos fall to 4-5.
Anderson was named the Most Valuable Player of the UCSB Tournament, the second tournament in a row in which she earned that honor. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by juniors Claire Felix and Taylor Formico.
Freshman Zana Muno posted her fourth double-double of the season with 34 assists and 10 digs. Formico and senior Rachel Inouye were both in double figures with 13 digs apiece, while senior Karly Drolson added six. Sophomore Reily Buechler added nine kills, while redshirt junior Haley Lawless posted eight. Felix notched six blocks and junior Jennie Frager added five, while in one set of action, freshman Kyra Rogers notched five kills. The Bruins hit .243 for the match.
The Bruins trailed by as many as three in the opening set, but used a late run to win the first. UCSB led 7-4, but a 7-2 UCLA run put the visitors up 11-9. Anderson, Frager and Lawless each had kills during the run, Anderson/Felix teamed up for a block and the Gauchos committed three errors. UCSB responded with a 7-2 run of its own to again go ahead by three at 16-13.
However, the Bruins finished the set on a 12-3 run to take the first. A 6-0 run on two Anderson kills, a Buechler kill and ace, a Felix kill and an attack error put UCLA on top 19-16. After the Gauchos scored two of the next three, the Bruins posted five of the final six. A Lawless kill gave the Bruins five set points and then she teamed up with Frager on a block to clinch the 25-19 win. Anderson and Lawless each had four kills in the first, while Formico added six digs, as the Bruins out-hit the Gauchos .212 to .083.
The Bruins held an early 5-3 lead in set two on four Buechler kills and one from Lawless, but the Gauchos came back with four straight to take a 7-5 edge. The two-point lead would be UCSB's largest of the set. Even at 13, the Bruins scored five in a row on a Buechler kill and ace, two Anderson kills and an Anderson/Felix block to go ahead 18-13.
UCLA would see its lead get to as many as six at 23-17, but the Gauchos stormed back with an 8-1 run. A streak of four was broken up by a Bruin sideout to give the visitors three set points, but UCSB netted the next four to take a 25-24 advantage and earn its own set point. But three successive attack errors by the Gauchos gave the Bruins a 27-25 victory. Anderson paced the Bruins with seven kills, Buechler added five and Lawless recorded four. Formico added five digs, as UCLA out-hit UCSB .244 to .184.
The Bruins trailed throughout the first half of set three, but came back to complete the sweep. Trailing 11-6, the Bruins went on a 14-6 run to go ahead 20-17. Rogers was a part of five of the points on three kills and two blocks. Anderson added three kills, while Felix posted a kill and two blocks.
The Gauchos responded with three straight to even things at 20, but the Bruins scored their next three points on UCSB errors and held a 23-21 advantage. The Gauchos netted the next two, but an attack error gave the Bruins match point and a Felix/Muno roof closed out the 25-23 victory. Rogers led the Bruins with five kills in the third, while Anderson and Muno each had three. Inouye posted seven digs, as the Bruins out-hit the Gauchos .273 to .205.
The Bruins close out non-conference action next Friday, Sept. 18 with a road doubleheader. UCLA takes on UC Irvine at Crawford Court at 10 a.m. and then faces Long Beach State at The Walter Pyramid at 7:30 p.m. Live audio will be available for both matches on UCLABruins.com.
