UCLA
UC Irvine
#14 UCLA Wins Seventh Straight
September 18, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
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IRVINE, Calif. - Junior Jordan Anderson led the 14th-ranked Bruins in kills for the fourth straight match, producing a season-best 21 with a .350 hitting percentage and eight digs, as UCLA won its seventh in a row with a sweep of UC Irvine on Friday morning at Crawford Court. Set scores were 25-23, 25-17, 25-21.
The Bruins improve to 8-1, while the Anteaters fall to 4-6.
Sophomore Reily Buechler added 12 kills and seven digs, while junior Claire Felix recorded eight kills and no errors in 13 attempts (.615 hitting percentage), her fifth match this season with at least eight kills and one or no hitting errors. Freshman Kyra Rogers had six kills, junior Taylor Formico notched eight digs and senior Rachel Inouye added seven digs. Freshman Zana Muno had 43 assists and set the Bruins to a season-high .317 hitting percentage.
The first set featured nine ties and six lead changes before the Bruins pulled away late to win the opener. UCLA jumped out of the blocks with four in a row on two Anderson kills, one by Felix and a bad UC Irvine set. The Bruins still led by four at 6-2 before the Anteaters netted five straight to take their first lead. A 3-0 UCLA run on two UCI errors and a combo block by Rogers and junior Jennie Frager put the visitors back up, but a 3-0 home run gave the Anteaters a 10-9 edge.
Trailing 11-10, three straight for the Bruins on a service error and two Felix kills again gave the Bruins the lead at 13-11. UCLA still led by two at 15-13 before another 3-0 UCI spurt made it 16-15 Anteaters. Down 19-17, the Bruins closed out the set on an 8-4 run to take it 25-23. Five straight for UCLA on a Buechler kill, a Felix/Rogers block, a Rogers kill, an ace by redshirt sophomore Ryann Chandler and another Rogers kill made it 22-19. Anderson's team-best sixth kill of the set would close out the two-point victory. Buechler added four kills, while Felix and Rogers each posted three. The Bruins were out-hit by the Anteaters .333 to .243.
Set two started just like the opener, with the Bruins recording the first four points on three Anderson kills and an Irvine attack error. But the second would not be exactly the same as the first, as UCLA didn't trail in the set. After a sideout, kills by Felix, Anderson and Buechler made it 7-1. Following another UCI point, an Anderson kill and an Anteater attack error put the Bruins up by seven at 9-2.
UCLA's lead didn't dip below five for the rest of the set, reaching as high as nine on several occasions. Just like she did in the first set, Anderson ended the second with a kill, her team-best ninth of the set to wrap up the 25-17 victory. Buechler and Felix each added three kills. The Bruins were much better on offense in the second, out-hitting the Anteaters .406 to .259.
In set three, the Bruins trailed by one at 4-3 before going on a 7-2 run. Buechler had two kills during the run, as UCLA went up 10-6 and didn't trail for the rest of the set. Leading 14-12, the Bruins scored five straight to take a set-best lead of seven at 19-12. Anderson had three kills during the run, Frager and Rogers teamed up for a block and Muno served an ace.
The Anteaters got as close as two at 23-21, but a UCI service error and a Formico ace on match point finished up the 25-21 victory. Anderson again led the Bruins with six kills, while Buechler added five. UC Irvine won the hitting battle .400 to .314.
The Bruins close out non-conference play this evening at 7:30 p.m. at Long Beach State. Live audio, video and stats will be available at UCLABruins.com.
