Match Info
- Arizona at #21 UCLA (PAC-12 Match)
- Los Angeles, CA
- UCLA improves to 14-8 (7-6 PAC-12); Arizona drops to 9-13 (3-10 PAC-12)
- Attendance: 767
- Box Score
The #21 ranked UCLA Bruins snapped a mini two game losing streak, dropping the visiting Arizona Wildcats in four sets. Set scores were 25-14, 29-27, 21-25, 25-9. Senior Reily Buechler and Freshman Mac May led the offense with 16 kills while Sophomore Madeleine Gates chipped in 13 kills and 7 blocks. Sarah Sponcil dished out 48 assists to go along with 10 digs while Zana Muno collected a match high 21 digs.
It was an up and down night for both teams, as the match saw the Bruins fight off five set points in set 2 to escape with a victory. The Bruins out-hit the Wildcats .299 to .131, but they also dominated the match in every major statistical category, holding the edge is kills 56-49, aces 8-4, blocks 14-9, digs 65-54, and assists 54-44. With the victory, UCLA improves to 14-8 (7-6 PAC-12) and will return to action on Saturday, November 4th to host Arizona State.
It was another tough match for Arizona who has now lost six of their last seven matches and 10 out of 12. Kendra Dahlke led the offense with 16 kills while Tyler Spriggs and McKenzie Jacobson chipped in 10 kills apiece. Julia Patterson handed out 36 assists while Paige Whipple and Makenna Martin each collected 12 digs.
With the loss, the Wildcats drop to 9-13 (3-10 PAC-12) and will return to action on Sunday, November 5th when they visit #13 USC.
Press Release:
Courtesy of UCLA Athletics
LOS ANGELES – Freshman Mac May and senior Reily Buechler each posted 16 kills, senior Sarah Sponcil had a double-double with 48 assists and 10 digs and junior Zana Muno added 21 digs, as the 18th-ranked Bruins knocked off Arizona in four sets on Friday at Pauley Pavilion. Set scores were 25-14, 29-27, 21-25, 25-9.
May hit a career-best .636 with just two errors in 22 attempts to go with two aces, Buechler added seven digs and five blocks (tied career high) and Sponcil notched a personal-best four aces. Sophomore Madeleine Gates recorded 13 kills, a .478 hitting percentage and eight blocks, sophomore Savvy Simo had 10 digs, freshman Anne Crouch tallied eight digs, freshman Jenny Mosser had six kills and four digs and junior Kyra Rogers posted three kills and no errors in 10 attempts (.300) with four blocks.
The Bruins trailed by three early on deficits of 5-2, 6-3 and 7-4 before scoring four in a row and 10 of 12 to go up by a handful. A kill and two Sponcil aces, as well as an Arizona attack error, made it 8-7 Bruins. At 10-9, UCLA scored four in a row on two Buechler kills, one by May and a Wildcat attack error to go ahead by five. Leading 14-11, the Bruins netted seven in a row on three Buechler kills, two Gates kills, a May ace and a Gates/Sponcil block to go up by double figures for the first time, eventually winning the opener 25-14. Buechler paced the Bruins with six kills, Gates added four with no errors in seven attempts and May was a perfect 3-for-3. Muno had five digs and Sponcil produced four digs with her 11 assists, as the Bruins out-hit the Wildcats .419 to .129.
UCLA saved five set points in the second to take a 2-0 lead to intermission. After seven lead changes and 11 ties through the first 24 points of the set, the Bruins scored five in a row on two Buechler kills, a Gates kill, a May ace and an Arizona attack error to go ahead 17-12. The Wildcats countered with a 10-2 run to go up 22-19 and would eventually earn two set points at 24-22. A Rogers/Buechler block and a Rogers ace saved them both to tie it at 24. A Buechler/Gates block on Arizona’s third set point, a Gates kill on attempt number four and a Wildcat service error on the fifth try made the score 27-all. An Arizona attack error then earned UCLA a set point, with a kill by Mosser wrapping up a 29-27 victory. Gates was 5-for-7 with no errors in the second, while Buechler and May each had three kills. Muno added six digs and Buechler had four blocks, as the Bruins out-hit the Wildcats .256 to .186.
The Bruins’ largest lead in set three was a pair at 5-3 and 6-4, while their last advantage of the third came at 8-7, as five in a row for Arizona gave the visitors a 12-8 edge. UCLA closed its deficit to within one on a few occasions, but were unable to get even, dropping the last three points to lose the third 25-21. May had six kills to lead the Bruins in the third, Buechler added four and Mosser posted three. Muno recorded seven digs, Crouch had six and Simo added four. The Bruins were out-hit .250 to .171.
UCLA trailed by a pair at 2-0 and 3-1 in set four before reeling off runs of 4-0 and 10-1 to break it open. The first four points came on a Buechler kill, an Arizona attack error and a pair of Gates combo blocks, first with Buechler and then with Sponcil. After an Arizona sideout, a 6-0 run on a Gates kill and solo block, a Buechler ace and three Wildcat errors extended the lead to 11-4. At 13-6, seven in a row for the Bruins on two May kills, two Rogers/May blocks, kills by Rogers and Mosser and a Sponcil ace put the home team up 20-6. Up 22-9, the Bruins finished the match with the last three points on kills by May, Buechler and Gates to win the fourth 25-9. May was error-free with four kills in six swings, while Buechler added three kills. The Bruins out-hit the Wildcats .435 to -.097.
The Bruins take on Arizona State on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion. The match will feature free video and audio on UCLABruins.com.
Press Release:
Courtesy of Arizona Athletics
LOS ANGELES — McKenzie Jacobson had season-highs in both kills (10) and blocks (5), but the Bruins outlasted the Wildcats in four sets in Los Angeles on Friday night in Pauley Pavilion (25-14, 29-27, 21-25, 25-9).
Senior middle blocker Jacobson, starting just her fifth match of the season, had 10 kills on just 14 attempts (.643) while adding a team-high five blocks. UA had nine as a team.
The Wildcats were unable to put away one of five set points in the second set and then won the third set 25-21, but those two competitive sets were bookended by a pair of dominant wins in the first (25-14) and fourth (25-9) sets.
Kendra Dahlke had 16 kills to lead all Wildcats while adding 10 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Julia Patterson also had a double-double for Arizona. The sophomore setter had 36 assists and 10 digs for her 10th double-double of 2017. Patterson had two kills and two blocks as well.
Dahlke and Patterson were two of four Wildcats with double-digit digs in the match. Paige Whipple and Makenna Martin tied for the team lead with 12 apiece.
UA had nine blocks on the night, seven of which came in the third set. Jacobson’s five led the team.
Tyler Spriggs posted 10 kills on the night, her first double-digit-kill match since Sept. 23 vs. Washington State. The junior had three blocks in the match as well.
The Wildcats fell to 9-13, 3-10 Pac-12 on the season while No. 18 UCLA improved to 14-8, 7-6 Pac-12. Arizona is set to face 17th-ranked USC on Sunday at the Galen Center. The Cats are in search of a season sweep of the Trojans after UA’s straight-set win in Tucson on Oct. 6.
Arizona could not handle UCLA’s offense in the first set as the Bruins hit .419 on their way to a 25-14 first-set win. UA led UCLA 7-4 early in the first, but UCLA ended the frame on a 21-7 run.
The Wildcats led UCLA 24-22, 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26, but could not close out the Bruins in the second set. UCLA fought off five set points to win the second set, 29-27.
Arizona, which entered the third set with one total block before intermission, had seven of them in the third, holding UCLA to a match-low .171 hitting percentage as the Cats won 25-21 to take the match to a fourth set.
UCLA returned the favor with seven blocks in the fourth set on its way to a 25-9 victory to close out the match.
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