Bruins Lose to Washington in Five Sets

SEATTLE – Graduate outside hitter Mac May slammed seven kills in the Bruins' fourth set versus the Huskies, including one to knot the score at 24-24.

After sophomore middle blocker Iman Ndiaye put the match point on the line with a kill, 25-24, the Huskies recorded three straight points to even the match at two sets apiece. No. 15 UCLA (9-2, 2-1 Pac-12) went on to drop the fifth and final frame to No. 13 Washington (8-3, 1-2 Pac-12), falling 3-2, at Edmundson Pavilion on Friday night.
 
UCLA's combined sideout percentage of 74.4 in sets one and two translated nicely to the service line where the Bruins used eight aces to separate themselves from the Huskies.
 
Senior defensive specialist Kelsey Campeau put away Washington in the first set with two aces for UCLA's final three points. The Bruins scored six total service aces in the first set. May and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Anna Dodson both recorded three kills in the first while four other Bruins – Francesca Alupei, Shelby Martin, Iman Ndiaye and elan McCall – registered two.  
 
Tied 11-11 in the second set, senior libero Zoe Fleck aced the Huskies twice to give the Bruins the lead for the remainder of the frame. Martin found her attackers at will with 15 of her season-high 51 assists at a .577 assist percentage coming in the frame. May exploded for seven more of her team-high 20 kills. Seventeen kills were responsible for the Bruins' 25 points in the frame.
 
Washington kept UCLA to a negative hitting percentage (-.077) in the third set with six team blocks.
 
Sophomore Allison Jacobs and Dodson were the two most efficient players in the Bruins' attack in the fourth set, recording three and two kills, respectively, with no attack errors on nine combined swings. May was responsible for three consecutive Bruin points in a pivotal stretch of the set, from points 14-16, in which she kept the Husky lead from exceeding two points.
 
Three of Dodson's block assists in the fifth set came at crucial times as well with two of them giving UCLA the lead at 7-6 and 9-8. Dodson finished the match with five block assists.
 
Fleck and McCall were spectacular in UCLA's back row, leading the Bruins with 18 and 14 digs, respectively. Martin and Jacobs also recorded double-digit digs with 12 and 10 each.
 
UCLA closes the weekend at Washington State in Bohler Gym on Sunday at 11 a.m. PT.