Super Sub Spurs Bruins in Sweep

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LOS ANGELES - Junior Jordan Anderson led all players with 21 kills, equaling a season best, to go with seven digs, but it was the outstanding, off-the-bench contribution of junior Jessyka Ngauamo, who produced five kills (tied career high) and no errors in 10 attempts (.500 hitting percentage) in the third set with six digs to help the 11th-ranked Bruins sweep Washington State on Sunday at the John Wooden Center. Set scores were 25-20, 25-18, 30-28.

The Bruins improve to 11-3 overall and 2-2 in Pac-12 play, while the Cougars fall to 12-4 and 1-3 in league action.

Junior Taylor Formico posted 13 digs, senior Rachel Inouye added seven digs with a career-best three service aces and redshirt sophomore Ryann Chandler had 39 assists and two aces. Redshirt junior Haley Lawless notched six kills and sophomore Reily Buechler posted five kills and five digs. The Bruins hit .213 for the match.

The Bruins never trailed in the opening set despite four tie scores. UCLA scored the first three on a kill by junior Jennie Frager and two attack errors, but Washington State got the next three. The Bruins responded with another 3-0 run on a Lawless kill, a WSU attack error and an Inouye ace, but again the Cougars came back to make it 6-all. After ties at seven and eight, UCLA scored four in a row on three successive Anderson kills and a Frager kill to take a 12-8 lead.

Washington State cuts its deficit to one at 13-12, 14-13 and 17-16 but was unable to even the score again. At 17-16, four in a row for the Bruins on three Anderson kills and a dig-kill combo for Inouye made it 21-16. The Bruins led by a set-best six at 23-17 and won the opener 25-20 behind 10 kills from Anderson. Lawless added three kills, while Formico recorded 10 digs. The Bruins out-hit the Cougars .229 to .167.

There was only one tie and one lead change in set two, as the Bruins routed the Cougars. After dropping the first point, the Bruins came back with a 15-3 run to bust it open. At 6-3, UCLA scored nine of 10 on two Chandler aces, two kills and a solo block from Anderson, a Lawless kill, a Formico ace and two WSU attack errors to take a set-best, 11-point advantage (15-4).

The Cougars trimmed their deficit to five at 17-12, but got no closer, as the Bruins quickly got the lead back up to nine at 22-13 and won the second 25-18. Anderson had four kills, while Lawless added three, as the Bruins out-hit Washington State .219 to .143.

Washington State jumped out to leads of 5-1, 11-5 and 16-9 before the Bruins staged a dramatic comeback thanks to Anderson and Ngauamo. With UCLA still trailing by five at 22-17, a 4-1 run on Frager and Ngauamo kills and two Cougar errors cut the Bruins' deficit to two at 23-21. Washington State scored on the next point to earn three set points, but a kill by junior Claire Felix and two in a row by Ngauamo tied things up at 24.

A WSU attack error gave UCLA a first match point, but the Cougars saved it. Another Ngauamo kill gave the Bruins a second match point, but it was saved. An Anderson cross-court shot made it three match points, but it was saved by WSU. The Cougars then took the lead 28-27 for their fourth set point, but an Anderson kill and a WSU attack error gave the Bruins a fourth match point and they finally finished it off on a combo block by Frager and Lawless to win the third 30-28. Anderson had seven kills in the third to go with Ngauamo's five with six digs, as the Bruins were out-hit .262 to .190.

Next up for the Bruins is a trip to Salt Lake City to take on Utah on Friday, Oct. 9 at 5 p.m. PT. The match will air live on Pac-12 Los Angeles.