LOS ANGELES – The UCLA women’s volleyball team fell in four sets to No.12 Oregon on Saturday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial.
Set scores were 28-26, 25-17, 19-25, 25-22.
Despite totaling five service aces and 11.5 team blocks, UCLA (17-10, 8-8 Big Ten) was edged statistically by Oregon (22-4, 13-3 Big Ten), which hit .270 compared to the Bruins' .207 and held a 60-53 advantage in kills. The Ducks also finished with a slight edge in blocks, 13.0-11.5.
Mija Bendziute paced the Bruins offensively, matching her career-high with 14 kills on .324 hitting while adding four blocks. Eliana Urzua contributed 10 kills and three blocks, while Maggie Li added eight kills, eight digs and four blocks. Marianna Singletary posted seven kills, a team-best seven blocks and a service ace, and Ava Utterback chipped in seven kills, three service aces and five digs.
At setter, Kate Duffey and Ava Sarafa combined for 40 assists, with Duffey tallying 21 assists and 11 digs and Sarafa adding 19 assists and nine digs. Defensively, Kat Lutz anchored the back row with a team-high 13 digs and a service ace.
The opening set featured eight ties and was deadlocked at 26-26 before Oregon scored the final two points to escape with a 28-26 victory. UCLA responded in the third set, racing out to a 5-0 lead behind consecutive service aces from Utterback and never trailed en route to a 25-19 win.
The Ducks controlled much of the second set and then pulled away late in a tightly contested fourth frame to secure the match. UCLA battled back from a three-point deficit to take an 18-16 lead in the fourth, but Oregon answered with a 7-2 run and closed out the 25-22 set victory. The match featured 23 ties and 11 lead changes.
Oregon seized the first significant advantage at 7-4 and stretched its lead to 15-10 at the media timeout behind four early kills from Sjakke Donkers. UCLA chipped away, closing within 17-15 after a solo block from Utterback and Singletary's third kill of the set. The Ducks answered to make it 19-15, but the Bruins responded with a 4-0 run to pull within one at 20-19. A block from Li tied the score at 21-21, setting up a dramatic finish. Oregon earned four set points at 24-22, 25-24 and 26-25, but UCLA fought off each opportunity before the Ducks finally secured the 28-26 win with a service ace.
Oregon jumped out to another 7-4 lead and used a 3-0 run to extend its advantage to 11-6. The Ducks remained in rhythm offensively, hitting better than .300 for the second consecutive set, and steadily pulled away to claim a 25-17 victory and a two-set lead.
UCLA came out firing after the intermission, opening on a 5-0 run fueled by back-to-back service aces from Utterback. Oregon trimmed the deficit to one at 8-7, but the Bruins answered with a 3-0 spurt to regain control at 11-7. Bendziute helped UCLA create separation late, recording an emphatic block before adding consecutive kills as the lead grew to 19-13. The Bruins never looked back, cruising to a 25-19 win to extend the match.
UCLA grabbed a 10-9 lead behind consecutive kills from Utterback, but Oregon responded to carry a 15-12 edge into the media timeout. Back-to-back blocks from Li and Singletary brought the Bruins within one, and Bendziute sparked another surge with two blocks and two kills during a 4-0 run that put UCLA ahead 18-16. The Ducks answered with three straight points to reclaim the lead, though the Bruins continued to battle and moved back in front at 22-21. Oregon had the final response, scoring four of the last five points to secure the 25-22 set victory and the match.
The Bruins will wrap up the regular season with the crosstown showdown against USC on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. (PT). The match will be nationally televised on Big Ten Network with Paul Sunderland and Holly McPeak on the call.