No. 18 UCLA Nets Second Straight Sweep

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LONG BEACH, Calif. - Lexi Hadrych led the 18th-ranked Bruins (3-0) with seven kills and Mac May and Emily Ryan added six kills apiece, as UCLA earned its second straight sweep in a win over Portland State (1-3) on Friday night at Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. Set scores were 25-14, 25-10, 25-16.

UCLA improved to 4-0 all-time against PSU as the match marked the first meeting between the two teams since 1980.

Offensively, the Bruins struggled in the first set, hitting -.103 (5K, 8E, 29TA), but rallied in the next two to raise the hitting percentage to .185 on the night (30K, 13E, 92TA). Defensively, UCLA was dominant at the net, recording 16 total blocks (compared to 6.0 for PSU) with Anna Dodson leading the way with six (one solo) and Ryan and Hadrych each stuffing five (one solo for Ryan).

A total of 12 Bruins saw action against the Vikings. Audrey Pak got the start at setter and recorded a double-double of 15 assists and 11 digs. She also added three blocks and one ace. Zoe Fleck registered a team-high-tying 14 digs and added five assists and an ace for the Bruins while outside hitter élan McCall also had 14 digs to go with four kills, two blocks, and one ace.

Charitie Luper and Tristin Savage both saw action in the final two sets with Luper recording two kills, one dig, and one block, and Savage tallying two kills and three blocks.

Iman Ndiaye and Shelby Martin made appearances in the third set. Martin tallied five assists while Ndiaye registered three kills on seven swings.

Portland State was led by Zoe McBride, who had five kills (3E) on 25 swings. She added nine digs, one block, and one ace. The Vikings struggled to hit over or around UCLA's block all night, hitting -.085 for the match (21K, 30E, 106TA). UCLA also had the advantage in service aces (6-1), service errors (4-8), kills (30-21), and digs (45-41).

The Bruins got off to a very slow start in the first set, trailing 5-1 after four hitting errors and a service error. But trailing 6-2, UCLA used a 9-0 run to take an 11-6 lead and never looked back. UCLA used eight blocks in the opening frame, four by Dodson, to cruise to the win, 25-14, despite hitting negative. Fleck had seven digs in the set with May recording three kills.

UCLA got off to a better start in the second set with McCall netting three kills early. Then with UCLA leading 9-4, May registered three straight kills to push the lead to 12-4. The Bruins continued their block party with another six in the second set to push the total to 14, which included six from Dodson (did not play in the third set) and five from Hadrych. Fleck raised her dig total to nine and May ended her night with six kills heading into the third and final set.

Portland State led 5-2 early in the third set, but UCLA again rallied to score six straight to take an 8-5 lead. Then leading 9-7, the Bruins engineered a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 16-7. The Vikings would never threaten again as UCLA cruised to a 25-16 win in the third set to complete the sweep.

The Bruins are back in action tomorrow, Sept. 4 as they take on No. 16 Georgia Tech in their third and final match of the Long Beach State Tournament. The contest is slated to start at 3 p.m. PDT.