UCLA
Washington State
Buechler and Formico Seeing 20-20 in Four-Set Win at Washington State
October 05, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
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PULLMAN, Wash. - Freshman Reily Buechler set a career best with 21 kills, while sophomore Taylor Formico had a season-high 24 digs, as the 20th-ranked Bruins took care of Washington State in four sets on Sunday at Bohler Gym. Set scores were 26-24, 25-16, 22-25, 25-23.
Senior Karsta Lowe added 13 kills and posted the 1,000th of her career on the penultimate point of the match, also recording nine digs and three blocks. A pair of Bruins (11-4, 2-2 Pac-12) had seven kills and no errors. Senior Zoë Nightingale had seven kills and no miscues in 11 attempts for a .636 percentage to go with six blocks, while sophomore Izzy Carmona posted seven kills and no errors in 14 swings (.500).
Freshman Olga Strantzali added nine kills, four digs and three aces, junior Karly Drolson tallied eight digs and sophomore Claire Felix had four kills and four blocks. Seniors Julie Consani (40 assists) and Megan Moenoa (14) split the setting duties. The Bruins, who had 10 blocks and five aces, hit .309 for the match, the 51st-straight time UCLA has won when eclipsing the .300 mark.
Set one featured 18 ties and six lead changes, with neither team leading by more than a pair. Trailing 9-7, the Bruins scored four in a row on kills by Felix and Carmona, an ace by Moenoa and a Felix/Strantzali combo block to make it 11-9. The Bruins were still up 17-16 when the Cougars went on 3-1 run to go ahead 19-18.
At 20-19 WSU, a 5-1 UCLA run put the visitors up 24-21. A Buechler kill and Cougar attack error made it 21-20 Bruins, and after a sideout, a Buechler kill, a Lowe/Nightingale combo block and a Lowe kill gave the Bruins three set points. Washington State (9-7, 0-4 Pac-12) saved all three of those set points, but kills by Buechler and Strantzali would give the Bruins the 26-24 win. Buechler had five kills in the opener, while Lowe added three. Formico added five digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .243 to .235.
The Bruins trailed early 4-1 in set two, but a 5-1 run on two Buechler kills, a Lowe kill, a Buechler/Nightingale block and a Cougar attack error put UCLA up 6-5. The Bruins would not trail for the rest of the set. At 12-10, six in a row for UCLA blew it open. The first three points came on a Felix/Strantzali block and kills by Carmona and Buechler, with the run ending on a Strantzali ace and kill and another Carmona kill to make it 18-10.
Washington State cut its deficit to five at 20-15, but would get no closer, as back-to-back Buechler kills, a Lowe kill and a Buechler/Nightingale block earned the Bruins nine set points. On the second attempt, a Cougar service error wrapped up a 25-16 win. Buechler again had five kills to lead the Bruins, Lowe added four and Strantzali posted three. Formico recorded 10 digs in the second, as the Bruins out-hit the Cougars .467 to .088.
In set three, the Cougars led early, the Bruins led in the middle, but Washington State forged ahead to keep the match going. Down 12-9, UCLA went on an 8-2 run to go ahead 17-14. Buechler had two kills during the run, Carmona and Lowe one each, Nightingale posted a block and WSU committed three errors. UCLA still led by three at 21-18, but the Cougars finished off the set on a 7-1 run to win the third 25-22. Buechler paced the Bruins with seven kills, while Lowe added three.
Just like set one, there were 18 ties and six lead changes in the fourth. UCLA's biggest lead was three and Washington State's was two. With UCLA down 9-8, a 5-1 run put the visitors up 13-10. Strantzali, Carmona and Buechler had kills, Felix added a solo stuff and WSU had an attack error. The Cougars rallied back to go ahead 19-17, but the Bruins would rally themselves and win the fourth set.
Down 23-22, a Cougar attack error equaled the score. The 1,000th-kill of Lowe's career gave the Bruins match point and a combo block by Lowe and Nightingale wrapped up a 25-23 victory. Buechler and Strantzali each had four kills in the fourth, while Lowe and Nightingale added three each. Formico recorded six digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .294 to .275.
The Bruins are back in action next Friday, Oct. 10 against Utah at 8 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu. Admission to the match is free. Free video, audio and live stats will be available at UCLABruins.com.
