Volleyball: Sophomore leads Bruins to sweep

By foxsports
Published

CORVALLIS,
Ore. - Sophomore
Rachael Kidder led all players with 14 kills, senior Dicey McGraw was also in
double figures with 11 and junior Lainey Gera added 26 digs, as the 10th-ranked
Bruins recorded 13 blocks, including a career-best seven by freshman Mariana
Aquino, in a three-set victory over Oregon State on Sunday. Set scores were
25-14, 26-24, 25-21.
 


The Bruins
improve to 21-7 overall and 11-6 in Pac-10 play, while the Beavers fall to 8-22
and 1-15 in league action.
 


Three more
Bruins, Kidder, junior Sara Sage and sophomore Bojana Todorovic, each had four
blocks. Todorovic added 10 digs and junior Lauren Van Orden produced 33
assists.The Bruins hit .204 for the match.


 
The Bruins gave
up the first point of the match, but came back with the next six and never
looked back in taking the opener. A Kidder kill, an Aquino solo block and a Gera
kill gave the Bruins a 3-1 lead. UCLA then had three straight blocks, with
Aquino taking part in all of them, teaming up with Todorovic twice and Kidder
once to put the visitors up by five. After an OSU sideout, an Aquino kill and a
Beaver attack error put the Bruins up by six at 8-2.
 


Oregon State
came back to cut its deficit to a pair at 13-11, but UCLA rallied with the next
six to go back up by eight. A Todorovic kill and two OSU attack errors made it
16-11. The Bruins then received an Aquino/Todorovic block and successive kills
by Aquino and Kidder to go up 19-11. Leading 20-13, UCLA scored five of the last
six points to win the first 25-14. A kill by Todorovic, an OSU attack error and
a Kidder kill made it 23-13. After a Beaver sideout, an OSU service error and a
McGraw kill gave the Bruins an 11-point win. Kidder had four kills and two
blocks in the first, McGraw added three kills, Todorovic posted three kills and
three blocks and Aquino had two kills and five roofs. UCLA had six blocks as a
team and out-hit Oregon State .321 to -.087.
 


The Beavers
jumped out to early leads of 6-1 and 9-4 in the second set, but the Bruins
rallied twice to go up 2-0 in the match. Down 13-7, the Bruins went on a 9-2 run
to take a 16-15 advantage. A Todorovic kill and an Aquino/Todorovic combo block
made it 13-9. After an OSU sideout, UCLA scored the next three on a kill by
Aquino and two errors by the Beavers to make it 14-12. The Beavers sided out
again, but the Bruins rattled off four in a row to take the lead. Kills by
Todorovic and Kidder and combo blocks by Kidder and Sage and Sage and Van Orden
put UCLA on top by one.
 


Oregon State
came back with the next two to re-take the lead 17-16 and maintained the
advantage until it had a set point at 24-22. But the Bruins netted the last four
points of the set to earn a 26-24 triumph. Kills by Kidder and McGraw evened the
score at 24 and a solo stuff by McGraw gave the Bruins a set point at 25-24. The
senior would make it three points in a row with another kill to give UCLA a
two-point win. Kidder had six kills in the second, McGraw added five and
Todorovic posted three. Gera had 11 digs in the second, as the Bruins out-hit
the Beavers .175 to .150.
 


Neither team led
by more than a pair throughout most of the third set until the Bruins pulled
away to finish off the sweep. With 14 ties and seven lead changes, the Bruins
held a 10-8 advantage only to see the Beavers score five of the next six to go
ahead 13-11. UCLA rallied back with four of the next five to take a 15-14 edge.
A service error and an attack miscue evened things at 13, and one OSU sideout
later, a kill and a solo block by Sage gave the Bruins a one-point
lead.
 


Oregon State
netted the next two to re-gain the advantage at 16-15, but a 4-0 UCLA run on two
kills by McGraw, a combo block by Aquino and McGraw and a Beaver attack error
put the visitors back up 19-16. The Bruins