Bruins Drop House Opener to Boilermakers in 5-Set Battle

LOS ANGELES – The No. 24-ranked UCLA girls’s volleyball workforce suffered a five-set defeat to No. 13 Purdue on Thursday night time inside Pauley Pavilion introduced by Wescom Financial.

Set scores had been 25-17, 25-22, 27-29, 23-25, 11-15.

UCLA (8-5, 2-1 Big Ten) noticed its home-opener spoiled regardless of taking the primary two units of the competition. The turning level got here late in set three, the place the Bruins held 4 match factors, however had been unable to ship the ending blow. Purdue (11-2, 2-1 Big Ten) seized the chance, stealing the deuce set and using that momentum by way of the fourth and fifth to finish an unbelievable reverse sweep.

Setter Kate Duffey turned in a unbelievable efficiency with a career-high 62 assists. She tallied her third double-double of the season after gathering 11 digs.

Freshman Eliana Urzua powered the Bruins’ offense with a career-high 22 kills on a powerful .302 hitting share, including 11 digs to safe a double-double.
Cheridyn Leverette adopted with 17 kills of her personal, whereas center blockers Marianna Singletary and Brooklyn Briscoe chipped in with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, to spherical out UCLA’s assault.

The Boilermakers had been led Kenna Wollard’s 33-kill effort (.369).

UCLA got here out firing within the opening set, establishing early momentum with aggressive swings from Briscoe and Leverette. Singletary’s pair of blocks helped stretch the result in 9-5, forcing Purdue to burn a timeout. Urzua’s back-to-back kills widened the hole to 14-7, and the Bruins’ center blockers continued to dominate, with Briscoe and Singletary every including two extra kills to push the result in 20-14. Two emphatic blocks sealed the set at 25-17, as UCLA hit a powerful .351 whereas stifling Purdue to only .094.

Urzua sparked UCLA once more with consecutive kills, however Purdue briefly took management with a 10-8 lead. The Bruins responded with a 3-0 run powered by Briscoe and Urzua to reclaim the benefit. Purdue surged forward 17-14, however Leverette’s clutch kills and Urzua’s artful tip tied the set at 19. Briscoe and Leverette delivered in crunch time, with Leverette’s cross-court blast giving UCLA a 23-22 edge. A ultimate 3-0 run capped the comeback, securing a 25-22 win and a 2-0 match lead.

Leverette opened the third set with a kill and ace, serving to UCLA to a 4-1 lead. Purdue clawed again with a 4-0 run to tie it at 8-8. The groups traded blows till the Boilermakers edged forward 19-16. The Bruins answered with a 4-0 burst, highlighted by Singletary’s kill and Duffey’s ace, tying it at 20. The set become a thriller, with each groups exchanging set factors from 24-24 onward. Despite 4 match factors for UCLA, Purdue held agency and stole the set 29-27 to remain alive.

Purdue jumped out to a 4-1 lead, however the Bruins responded with a 3-0 run that includes Leverette’s back-to-back kills to tie it at 6. Purdue countered with two scoring runs to construct a 13-7 cushion. UCLA fought again behind Kat Lutz’s serving and Briscoe’s kill to shut the hole to 15-13, however the guests surged once more, successful six of the subsequent seven factors to go up 21-14. UCLA made one final push to chop the deficit to 1, however a service error at set level allowed Purdue to even the match.

In the decisive fifth set, Purdue grabbed a 4-1 lead, however UCLA stayed shut due to a Lutz ace and Urzua kill. Leverette tied it at 5-5, and a block from Leverette and Singletary gave UCLA a short 7-6 lead. The Boilermakers led 8-7 on the change and prolonged it to 9-7, prompting a timeout from the house bench. Urzua’s kill stopped the bleeding, however Purdue’s earlier 4-0 run proved decisive as they closed out the set 15-11, finishing a dramatic reverse sweep.

UCLA stays at dwelling to tackle Indiana on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. (PT). The contest will probably be out there for viewing on B1G+.