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After falling to the Washington Huskies at home on Sunday, the UCLA women’s volleyball hits the road for a pair of games this weekend in the mountain states. First up is a match against the #18 Utah Utes tonight at 6 pm PT. The winner of this game will remain in first place in the Pac-12 standings.
Last Time Out
On Sunday, the Bruins lost to the Huskies, 3-1. It was the first time UCLA has lost this season and not been swept. The first set was a back-and-forth battle which saw UCLA take an early 3-1 lead. With the Bruins up 6-4, the Huskies went on a 9-3 run to take a 13-9 lead. Down 19-15, UCLA went on a 5-0 run to retake the lead, but Washington countered with a 5-0 run of their own to force a set point. UCLA fought it off once, but couldn’t come back and the Bruins lost the set, 25-21.
UCLA fell behind early in the second set and, while they tied the set up five times, they never had the lead and ultimately lost the set, 25-23.
After the break, Washington took the early lead, but the Bruins tied it up at 6-6 as the teams battled it out until 10-10. That’s when UCLA went on a 5-1 run to take a 15-11 lead. Washington closed it to within one five times but, with the score 19-18, UCLA went on a decisive 6-2 run to close out the set and stave off elimination.
Unfortunately, UCLA couldn’t do the same again in the fourth set. The Bruins were ahead 19-15 when the Huskies went on an 8-2 run to take a 23-21 lead. UCLA closed the gap to one twice, but couldn’t tie it up and Washington won the fourth set, 25-23, to win the match.
Utah Utes
Now, the Bruins hit the road to face the Utes tonight. This will be a tough match because it’s on the road at altitude. Utah’s only conference loss so far has come on the road and their only home loss came against #12 BYU.
I’m not saying a Bruin win tonight is out of the realm of possibility, but I’d be really happy if they just avoid a sweep.
Go Bruins!!!