Beavs Stumble In Straight Sets At UCLA

LOS ANGELES – The Oregon State volleyball team fell to UCLA in three sets, 25-19, 25-20, 25-20, on Friday night at Pauley Pavilion.

Izzi Szulczewski was the only Beaver with double-digit kills, finishing the match with 11, while setter Inna Balyko crept closer to 4,000 career assists, dishing out 22 on the night.

Both teams struggled from the service line early, with four of the matches first 10 points coming off service errors for the two teams. The Beavers held a one-point advantage at the media timeout with each team fighting for separation as neither could gain ground with the score being tied on eight occasions at the first media break. UCLA took its first lead at 16-15 and refused to relinquish, taking the first set 25-19.

With the Beavers up 6-5 in the early stages of set two, UCLA took advantage of a pair of Beaver errors and two aces from Anna Dodson to go on a 6-1 run. The Bruins offense got hot in the second, as another 5-1 run saw the Bruins stretch their lead to as many as six at 17-11. UCLA finished the set hitting at a .519 clip to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.

Set three saw big runs by each team, as the Bruins started set with a 7-3 push, before OSU answered with a 6-1 run of their own to give the Beavs a 9-8 advantage. However, UCLA immediately answered with an 8-2 charge to go up 16-11 and went on to close the match with a 25-20 victory in set three.

Oregon State closes a four-game road trip on Sunday with a matchup with USC. First serve is set for 12 p.m. PT from the Galen Center.

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