No. 12 Bruins Fall in Four at Colorado
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BOULDER, Colo. - Junior élan McCall recorded her second double-double of the weekend and was one of three Bruins in double figures in kills, but No. 12 UCLA dropped a four-set decision at Colorado on Sunday at the CU Events Center. Set scores were 25-27, 25-23, 22-25, 20-25.
McCall had 11 kills and 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Redshirt junior Emily Ryan posted 10 kills, six blocks and four digs and freshman Allison Jacobs had 10 kills, four blocks and three digs. Junior Zoe Fleck produced 19 digs, freshman Iman Ndiaye had nine kills and three digs, senior Mac May added seven kills, 10 digs and two aces and senior Sabrina Smith posted four blocks, four digs and three kills. Freshmen Kate Lane and Audrey Pak both had 20 assists, with Lane adding 11 digs for her third double-double. The Bruins (10-4) hit .205 for the match.
Leading 7-5 in set one, the Bruins scored nine of the next 11 to go up by a set-best nine at 16-7. Ryan had two kills and two blocks during the run, Ndiaye added two kills and May had a kill and block during the run. The Buffaloes (5-7) responded with seven in a row to get to within two, but the Bruins still had as much as a four-point lead as late as 20-16. With UCLA up 23-21, Colorado scored the next three to earn its first set point. Jacobs would save the first attempt, while McCall thwarted the second, but Colorado would win the opener 27-25. McCall had three kills and five digs, Ryan was 3-for-5 with no errors and May also had three kills. The Bruins out-hit the Buffaloes .353 to .286.
The Bruins had another great start to set two, taking leads of 6-2 and 12-7. Jacobs had four of the 12 points on three kills and a block with Ryan, who added a kill, Ndiaye posted two kills and a solo block, McCall had a kill and Colorado made three errors. Despite a few ties, the Bruins held on to the lead for the rest of the set. At 22-all, a Colorado service error and a Ryan kill gave the Bruins two set points, with a Jacobs kill on the second try closing out a 25-23 win. Jacobs was 5-for-10 with no errors in the second, while McCall and Ryan each had three kills. Fleck produced seven digs. The Bruins out-hit the Buffaloes .220 to .213.
The third set had the most ties (13) and lead changes (six), with UCLA's largest edge being one and Colorado's being three. Down 14-12, kills by May and Jacobs and a May ace put the Bruins up by one. Colorado responded with the next three though, and despite several ties, the home team would hold on to the third set, winning 25-22. Ndiaye was 3-for-7 with no errors, while McCall and Ryan both posted three kills. Fleck had seven digs and Lane recorded five. The Bruins were out-hit .205 to .154.
The Bruins scored seven of the first 10 points of set four, as McCall had two kills, Smith posted one and Colorado made four errors. UCLA still led 14-12, but Colorado scored the next four and maintained the lead for the rest of the match, winning the fourth 25-20. Four different players had two kills in the fourth, as the Bruins were out-hit .250 to .094.
The Bruins are back in action next weekend at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom, hosting No. 9 Utah at 2 p.m. on Friday. A live stream will be available at UCLABruins.com.