UCLA Takes Pac-12 Conference Lead With 3-2 Win Over #9 Stanford

Match Stats

• #13 UCLA def. #9 Stanford 3-2 (25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 16-25, 15-11)
• UCLA moves to 21-5 (12-4 Pac-12); Stanford falls to 17-7 (11-5 Pac-12)
• Maples Pavillion, Stanford, California

The UCLA Bruins moved a half-game up on the Pac-12 Conference, and knocked Stanford from the ranks of 4-loss teams, with a huge victory on the road on Saturday evening.

Their 12-4 conference record puts them 1 win ahead of the Washington Huskies, who play their 16th conference game on Sunday.

UCLA’s two-headed setting monster of Ryann Chandler (31 assists, 6 digs) and Kylie Miller (28 assists, 6 digs) led the Bruins to a .282 team hitting average.

UCLA led almost the entire way in set 1; aside from a 1-0 deficit they never trailed. That early dominance, however, was not indicative of how competitive the game was overall. Stanford very nearly did the same thing right back in the 2nd, where they took a lead at 4-3 and never trailed again.

In set 3, the pair settled into a balance with 8 ties and 4 lead changes before UCLA finally won. That included 6 kills from freshman Torrey van Winden as part of the best game she’s had yet as a Bruin with 19 kills, 8 digs, 4 blocks, and 2 aces.

Set 4 was back to one-sidedness, where Stanford took the Bruins to task by hitting .567 behind 8 kills from star Kathryn Plummer.

But as hot as she was in the 4th set, she went cold in the 5th with just 2 kills, negated by 2 errors. Meanwhile, UCLA’s stars stepped to the mark – Jordan Anderson recorded 4 of her 13 kills, and Reily Buechler had 5 of her 18, in the last set as the Bruins rolled to victory.

Plummer led scoring for the Cardinal with 17 kills and 10 digs, though she hit just .157. Stanford, the national leaders in blocks-per-set this year, got 14 more on Saturday, including 7 from freshman Audriana Fitzmorris (which she matched with 11 kills).

Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PutOVyUGaI0

Press Releases

UCLA Athletics:

STANFORD, Calif. – Freshman Torrey Van Winden tied a career high with 19 kills, adding eight digs, four blocks and two service aces, while junior Reily Buechler added 18 kills and nine digs, as the 13th-ranked Bruins defeated #9 Stanford in five sets on Saturday at Maples Pavilion. Set scores were 25-16, 21-25, 25-23, 16-25, 15-11.

The Bruins improved to 21-5 overall and 12-4 in Pac-12 play, beating the Cardinal (17-7, 11-5) for the second time this year to sweep the season series for the first time since 2011. Senior Taylor Formico notched 18 digs and seven assists, senior Jordan Anderson had 13 kills and five digs, senior Jennie Frager posted 10 kills and four digs and senior Claire Felix added five kills and five blocks. The Bruins hit .282 behind the setting of junior Ryann Chandler (31 assists, six digs) and freshman Kylie Miller (28 assists, six digs).

UCLA’s only deficit in set one was at 1-0, as the Bruins scored the next three on kills by Van Winden and Buechler and a Van Winden ace, never trailing for the rest of the opener. At 7-5, a Van Winden kill, a Stanford attack error, a Felix solo block and a Buechler kill increased the lead to six. After a sideout, a Van Winden kill, a Cardinal attack error and an Anderson kill made the run 7-1 and upped the lead to 14-6. The largest lead of the opening set was nine on several occasions, as an attack error on the Bruins’ first set point finished up a 25-16 victory. Van Winden had four kills in the first in an error-free six attempts, while Buechler and Frager each posted three. UCLA hit .345 and held Stanford to a -.036 percentage.

The Bruins held a 3-1 lead in the second, but Stanford scored the next five and didn’t trail for the rest of the set. UCLA would come back to square things at seven, but the Cardinal came back with four in a row. Stanford’s lead reach as high as five, as the Bruins couldn’t get closer than two the rest of the way, dropping the second 25-21. Buechler paced UCLA with five kills, Van Winden added four in an error-free 12 swings and Anderson posted three. Formico tallied five digs. The Bruins were out-hit .306 to .190.

Set three featured eight ties and four lead changes, but the Bruins won the deuce set to take a 2-1 lead in the match. With the score even at eight, Stanford got four in a row to take a set-high lead. The Bruins trimmed the deficit to 15-14, but three straight again made it a four-point lead for the home team. However, at 19-16, UCLA recorded nine of the final 13 points to take the third. A 5-0 run on three straight Van Winden kills, a Formico ace and a Van Winden/Felix block put the Bruins up 21-19. Stanford rallied to even things at 22, but kills by Frager and Buechler gave the Bruins two set points, and on attempt number two, an Anderson kill finished the two-point win. Van Winden had six kills, Anderson added three and Formico posted six digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .257 to .205.

The Bruins scored the first point of set four, surrendered the next two and never led again in the set. Stanford’s largest lead of the set would be the same margin of victory, a nine-point win, at 25-16. Van Winden had four kills, while Buechler added three, as the Bruins were out-hit .567 to .300.

Stanford grabbed early leads of 3-1 and 4-2 in set five, but the Bruins rallied with a 5-1 run to take a 7-5 edge. Buechler had two kills during the run, Miller served an ace, Frager notched a kill and Stanford committed an attack error. The next eight points were sideouts, which brought the score to 11-9, and two in a row for Stanford evened things at 11. However, the Bruins tallied the final four on a Buechler kill, a Stanford attack error and two in a row by Buechler to complete a 15-11 win. Buechler had five kills in an error-less seven attempts, Anderson added four kills and Formico tallied four digs, as the Bruins hit .556 to Stanford’s .280.

UCLA currently sits in solo first place with Washington (half-game back at 11-4), which plays Arizona State on Sunday. Next up for the Bruins is a Wednesday matchup with Oregon State at 8 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion. The contest will be televised on Pac-12 Los Angeles and will also feature free audio on UCLABruins.com.

Stanford Athletics:

STANFORD, Calif. – The ninth-ranked Stanford women’s volleyball team had its six-match winning streak snapped Saturday in a 16-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, 11-15 loss to No. 13 UCLA at Maples Pavilion.

With the win, UCLA (21-5, 12-4 Pac-12) momentarily gains sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 as No. 11 Washington hosts Arizona State on Sunday. Stanford drops to 17-7 overall and 11-5 in the conference.

UCLA out hit Stanford .282 to .279. The Cardinal drops to 0-5 on the season when being out hit by its opponent. Stanford also falls to 3-4 in five-set matches, despite posting more blocks (14.0 to 10.0) and more digs (58 to 55) than the Bruins.

Freshman Kathryn Plummer registered her team-best seventh double-double of the season with 17 kills and 10 digs. Redshirt junior Ivana Vanjak tied her career-high with 13 kills, while redshirt junior Merete Lutz also tallied 13 kills on .478 hitting to go with a career-best five digs.

Freshman middle blocker Audriana Fitzmorris finished with 11 kills and a match-best seven blocks. It marked the 11th time this season she has produced double-digit kills. Redshirt senior middle blocker Inky Ajanaku chipped in with eight kills and six blocks.

Freshman setter Jenna Gray racked-up a career-high 57 assists, 12 digs, four blocks, three kills and an ace. It was the third double-double of her career and the first since Sept. 28. Freshman libero Morgan Hentz collected 18 digs, four assists and an ace.

Stanford hit .306 and .567 in the two sets it won, but started off on the wrong foot, hitting -.036 in the first. UCLA was also up and down during the match, but finished strong with a 11 kills on 18 swings and just one error (.556) in the final frame.

The Bruins were led by freshman opposite Torrey Van Winden’s 19 kills on .381 hitting, eight digs and four blocks. Junior Reily Buechler added 18 kills on a .394 attack percentage to go with nine digs, while senior libero Taylor Formico matched Hentz with 18 digs.

Up next, Stanford will make its final road trip of the regular season next week, traveling to Arizona State in Friday, Nov. 18 and No. 25 Arizona on Sunday, Nov. 20. Both matches will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.