#17 Bruins Rope the Mustangs

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Redshirt sophomore Ryann Chandler recorded the first double-double of her career with 40 assists and 12 digs, while junior Jordan Anderson led the 17th-ranked Bruins in kills for the second straight match with 14, as UCLA swept SMU on Saturday at The Thunderdome. Set scores were 25-20, 25-22, 25-16.

The Bruins improve to 6-1, while the Mustangs fall to 7-2.

Sophomore Reily Buechler was a dig shy of her third straight double-double, posting 13 kills and nine digs. Redshirt junior Haley Lawless tallied nine kills and just one error in 25 attempts (.320 percentage), while junior Claire Felix had eight kills and a .400 percentage. The Bruins hit .265 as a team.

Junior Taylor Formico added 23 digs, senior Rachel Inouye had 10, senior Karly Drolson tallied six digs and junior Jennie Frager posted five blocks.

Early in set one, there were six ties and a pair of lead changes until the Bruins forged ahead to win the opener. At 6-all, a 5-0 UCLA run on a Buechler kill, a Frager/Lawless block and three Mustang errors put the Bruins up 11-6. UCLA's lead reached as many as seven at 18-11.

SMU closed to within a pair at 20-18, but with the lead still a pair at 22-20, an Anderson kill, an SMU error and a Formico ace wrapped up a 25-20 victory. Buechler led the Bruins with six kills in the first, Anderson added four and Felix posted three. Formico added five digs for the Bruins, who out-hit the Mustangs .263 to .125.

The Bruins jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in set two on kills by Buechler, Anderson, Felix and Frager and three SMU errors. But the Mustangs came back with runs of 5-0 and 8-1 to go up by three at 11-8. Still with a lead of three at 13-10, SMU saw UCLA go on a 7-2 run to take a 17-15 edge. Felix was a part of three of the points on two kills and a solo stuff, Buechler added two kills and the Bruins benefitted from two Mustang errors.

Equal at 17, two Anderson kills, a Frager solo block and a Formico ace put the Bruins back up by four at 21-17. SMU wouldn't quit and got to within one at 23-22, but kills by Lawless and Buechler completed the 25-22 victory. Buechler again led the Bruins with five kills, Anderson again had four and Felix again had three. The Bruins out-hit SMU .208 to .157. In the backcourt, Formico had nine digs, Inouye added eight and Chandler posted six.

The Bruins trailed 5-2 and 7-4 in set three before going on a long run to finish off the sweep. It was an 12-2 run in all, starting with seven in a row. Anderson was a part of four points on three kills and a solo block. Lawless also had a kill and teamed up with Frager on a block, while Chandler served an ace. After a sideout, an SMU service error and a Lawless kill made it 13-8. Following another sideout, a Lawless kill, a Buechler/Frager block and a Mustang attack error brought the lead to seven at 16-9.

The lead was as high as nine on a few occasions. The Bruins clinched it on their second match point on a kill by Lawless to finish off the 25-16 victory. Anderson and Lawless each recorded six kills in the third. Formico tallied another nine digs, as the Bruins out-hit the Mustangs .326 to .122.

The Bruins look to finish off their second straight tournament sweep on Sunday against UC Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. Live audio, video and stats will be available on UCLABruins.com.