UCLA
17-4, 8-3Pac-12
Colorado
12-9, 4-7Pac-12
#12 Bruins Outlast Colorado in Five Sets
October 28, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
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LOS ANGELES -ย The 12th-ranked Bruins won the first two sets, both by scores of 25-16, while Colorado won the next two sets, each by scores of 25-19. However, UCLA would finish what it started, posting a 15-9 victory in set five to win its fifth match in a row on Friday night at the John Wooden Center.
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Senior Jordan Anderson paced the offensive attack for the Bruins (17-4, 8-3 Pac-12) with a season-best 18 kills, while senior Jennie Frager added a career-high 16 kills, recording just one hitting error in 29 attempts for a .517 percentage to go with eight blocks. Freshman Torrey Van Winden notched a double-double with 13 kills and a career-best 16 digs plus a personal-high five blocks, junior Reily Buechler posted 13 kills and senior Claire Felix had six kills and four blocks.
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Defensively, senior Taylor Formico moved into third-place on UCLA's all-time digs list thanks to a 27-dig effort on Friday, adding two aces, while sophomore Zana Muno tallied 17 digs. The Bruins hit .247 for the match behind the setting of freshman Kylie Miller (27 assists, 11 digs, one ace) and junior Ryann Chandler (29 assists, six digs, one ace).
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The Bruins never trailed in taking the opening set. Even at six, UCLA scored five straight on two Van Winden kills, one apiece by Anderson and Felix and a Formico ace. Another 5-0 run at 12-8 extended the advantage to nine, as Buechler and Frager each had two kills and Colorado (12-9, 4-7 Pac-12) committed a hitting error. UCLA's lead reached double figures for the first time at 19-9, with 10 being its largest margin of the set. On their second set point, a Frager kill, her fifth in as many attempts in the opener, finished up a 25-16 win for the Bruins. Anderson also had five kills in the first, while Buechler and Van Winden each added three, as the Bruins out-hit the Buffaloes .472 to .189. Formico notched nine digs in the opener.
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UCLA pulled away in the second to take a 2-0 lead to intermission. Trailing by as many as three early on at 4-1, the Bruins made a run before the score got to double figures and took that lead to the break. At 5-3 Colorado, a 7-2 run on three Anderson kills, two by Van Winden, a Felix block solo and a Formico ace made it 10-7 Bruins. Colorado closed to within one on a few occasions, but was unable to even the score. At 18-15, UCLA finished the set on a 7-1 run to win the second by a familiar 25-16 total. Buechler had two kills during the final run, Anderson and Felix one apiece, Felix and Van Winden combined on a block and Chandler serve an ace on set point. It was Anderson's turn to go 5-for-5 on kills, with Van Winden adding four and Buechler and Frager three each. Muno totaled five digs. The Bruins out-hit the Buffaloes .467 to .333.
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Set three featured seven ties and five lead changes, but the Bruins' largest lead was just one on a few occasions. At 8-all, four in a row for the Buffaloes gave the visitors a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the set. Colorado's advantage reached as high as six, which would also be the final margin of set three in the 25-19 win. Formico recorded nine digs in the third, while Van Winden had three kills and four digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .213 to .098.
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Once again, the Bruins' largest lead in set four was one at 1-0 and 2-1. At 3-all, an 8-2 run catapulted Colorado to an 11-5 advantage. The Buffs' largest lead was nine at 21-12, as they would go on to win the fourth 25-19. Buechler posted four kills in the set, while Anderson added three. Formico and Muno both had five digs, Van Winden totaled four digs and Frager made four blocks, as the Bruins were out-hit .220 to .068.
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With all the momentum, Colorado took an early 3-1 lead in the deciding set, but it was all Bruins after that, scoring the next five on two kills and a solo block by Anderson, a Frager kill and a combo block by Frager and senior Haley Lawless to go up 6-3. On top 12-9, the Bruins scored the last three points of the match on a Van Winden kill, a Buechler/Frager block and a Frager kill to wrap up a 15-9 victory. Frager was 4-for-7 with no errors in the fifth, Anderson added three kills and Van Winden notched seven digs, as the Bruins out-hit the Buffaloes .276 to .071.
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The Bruins' four-match homestand concludes on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion, as UCLA entertains #21 Utah at 8 p.m. The contest will air on Pac-12 Los Angeles and will also feature free live audio at UCLABruins.com.
