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Virginia Falls to No. 20 UCLA, 3-0
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Box Score Aug. 29, 2015
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Freshman Anna Walsh (Grapevine, Texas) and junior Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.) each recorded double-digit kills as the Virginia volleyball team fell to No. 20 UCLA, 3-1 (25-19, 25-21, 25-16) on Saturday night at the John Wooden Center.
“I thought we played hard tonight, we just didn’t execute at a high level,” head coach Dennis Hohenshelt said. “We have to understand that when you play a team of UCLA’s caliber, every contact counts. We have a lot of areas we need to improve on, but we made some big strides in week one. I believe that we are on our way to being a very good volleyball team.”
Virginia (1-1) recorded 36 kills with a .202 hitting percentage, while UCLA finished with 44 kills on .294 hitting. The Bruins topped the Cavaliers with eight blocks to five and out-dug UVa, 42-37.
Walsh highlighted the night for Virginia, posting a career-high 11 kills with no errors for a .647 attack percentage. Kole added 10 kills, while senior Kayla Sears (Moorpark, Calif.) finished with seven and senior Natalie Bausback (Carlsbad, Calif.) had five.
Senior Lauren Fuller (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) dished out 33 assists to guide the offense, while junior Lexi Riccolo (Wheaton, Ill.) tallied 11 digs for the second-straight match in double figures.
The match started with a close first set that included 13 ties. Both teams traded points until UCLA edged ahead with a 5-1 run. The Bruins held on to win the opening set, 25-19.
Virginia jumped out quickly in the second set to have an early lead, 6-3. However, UCLA would find its momentum and eventually take a 22-16 lead. The Cavaliers rattled off three-straight points to cut the lead to three, but the Bruins remained in control to win, 25-21.
In the third set, UVa took control first with a 10-6 lead that forced UCLA to call a timeout. The Bruins battled back to tie the set up and went on to take the set, 25-16.
Virginia will return home to host the Cavalier Classic next week. The Cavaliers take on VCU in their home opener at 7 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 4), then host Appalachian State at 10 a.m. and Iowa State at 7 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 5).