University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
9-1
Long Beach State
5-5
Bruins Close Non-Conference With Win at LBSU
September 14, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
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LONG BEACH, Calif. - Sophomore Zana Muno recorded a season-best 22 digs, senior Taylor Formico added 20 and senior Claire Felix led all players with a season-high 16 kills, as the 11th-ranked Bruins closed out non-conference play with a four-set victory at Long Beach State on Wednesday. Set scores were 25-17, 21-25, 25-20, 25-23.
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Seniors Jordan Anderson (12) and Jennie Frager (10) were each in double figures in kills, with Frager adding four blocks. Five Bruins posted double figures in digs, as junior Reily Buechler had 11 with seven kills, junior Ryann Chandler notched 10 with 49 assists and five kills for a double-double and freshman Savvy Simo tallied 10. The Bruins hit .196 for the match.
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The Bruins (9-1) never trailed in taking the opening set. Even at four, UCLA scored three in a row on an Anderson kill, a Frager/Buechler block and a Simo kill. Long Beach State (5-5) would come back to even the score at nine, but could never take the lead. Six in a row on three Felix kills and a trio of LBSU attack errors gave the Bruins a 15-9 advantage. At 17-13, a 4-0 run on kills by Anderson, Buechler and Frager and a 49er attack error extended UCLA's lead to a high point of eight. Up 23-17, kills by Felix and Anderson closed out a 25-17 win. Felix had five kills and no errors in 10 attempts, while Anderson was also error-free with four kills in 14 swings. Formico added nine digs and Muno posted five, as the Bruins out-hit the 49ers .326 to .102.
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Set two featured 12 ties and eight lead changes, as the 49ers equaled the match heading into intermission. Long Beach State raced out to a 6-3 lead, but the Bruins came back with five of the next six on kills by freshman Torrey Van Winden, Buechler and Chandler, a Buechler solo block and a 49er attack error to give the visitors an 8-7 edge. Long Beach netted the next two, but two Felix kills and a 49er attack error put the Bruins ahead 11-9. The 49ers responded with six of the next eight to take a 15-13 lead. Three in a row by the Bruins on kills by sophomore Kyra Rogers and Buechler and a Frager solo block again put UCLA up. The Bruins led as late as 20-19, but the 49ers recorded six of the last seven points of the set to win it 25-21. Frager posted four kills in the second, while Buechler and Frager had three apiece. UCLA, which had three blocks, was out-hit .093 to .078. Muno added seven digs, Formico had six and Buechler notched four.
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Like set one, the Bruins never trailed in set three, racing out to leads of 4-0 and 7-1. Two Anderson kills, a Felix kill and an LBSU error gave UCLA its first four points. After a sideout, a Formico ace and two 49er errors made it 7-1. The 49ers closed to within two at 7-5, but could get no closer. From there, the Bruins' lead stayed between three and five for the rest of the third. A Frager kill, an Anderson/Frager block, a 49er attack error and a Van Winden/Frager roof put UCLA ahead by five at 11-6. The five-point difference would eventually be the Bruins' winning margin in the set (25-20). Felix led UCLA with four kills, while Anderson added three. The Bruins had four blocks and out-hit the 49ers .122 to .026. Muno recorded six digs.
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Keeping with the theme of wire-to-wire Bruin wins in the odd sets, set four was like set two in that there were 12 ties and two lead changes, but UCLA would prevail 25-23. The Bruins led 9-8, but four in a row for the 49ers gave the home squad a 12-9 lead. Long Beach State would extend its advantage to as much as four at 14-10 before the Bruins scored five of six to even the score. Frager had two kills and an ace, Felix posted a solo block and Muno notched a kill to make it 15-all. Long Beach State still led as late as 23-21 before UCLA scored the last four of the match to win it 25-23. Buechler was a part of three of the four points on two kills and a solo block on match point. Anderson led the Bruins with five kills, Felix added four and Frager posted three. Chandler and Muno each had four digs. The Bruins out-hit the 49ers .273 to .250.
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With non-conference play behind them, the Bruins begin Pac-12 action next Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. at USC. The match will be broadcast on Pac-12 Los Angeles and will also feature free audio on UCLABruins.com.
