Oregon State
UCLA
No. 6 UCLA Sweeps OSU Volleyball
October 16, 1999 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 16, 1999
CORVALLIS, Ore. - The No. 6 UCLA volleyball team hit .422 as a team as the Bruins swept Oregon State in three games at Gill Coliseum Saturday night. Game scores were 15-4, 15-2 and 15-13.
"UCLA's a very physical team. Our hitters started playing smarter in game three," coach Nancy Somera said. "They mixed up their shots and started throwing in some tips."
After OSU had just 17 kills and a mere .038 hitting percentage as a team through the first two games, Somera made a few lineup changes in game three. The Beavers (8-9, 2-7) regained some and almost forced the Bruins (17-1, 9-0) to play a fourth game.
"I really liked the look of that lineup in game three. It makes us a more physical team," Somera said. "I just wasn't seeing a lot of competitive spirit in games one and two, and I went with some people I thought could (give us that spirit)."
Middle blockers Angie Shirley and Michele Solomon made rare appearances in the back row in game three, and freshman Joscelyn Hannaford saw considerable playing time in the third game after making her collegiate debut just a game earlier.
But Gina Schmidt was the biggest key to OSU's efforts in that third game. After struggling with just two kills and a -.143 hitting percentage in games one and two, Schmidt made a complete turnaround and hit .500 with eight kills and no errors in the final game to finish with a .304 mark on the night.
The Beavers called time out after falling behind, 8-2, early in the third game. OSU slowly edged back into the game and got within six points at 13-7. Angie Shirley slammed down one of her 12 kills for a Beaver sideout, and OSU scored twice on a UCLA error and an ace from Shirley.
A couple sideouts later, the Beavers added two more points on an ace from Brandi Bonnarens and a kill by Sarah Bjeldanes that forced the Bruins to call their first timeout of the match.
The Bruins made it 14-11 on an error from Hannaford, but Schmidt picked up another kill for an OSU sideout. Bjeldanes served an ace, and Solomon added a kill to put the Beavers within one at 14-13, but UCLA regained the serve after Ashley Bowles' kill. The Bruins finally put it away on their fourth match-point opportunity.
UCLA led OSU in every in statistical category for the match. The Bruins had 59 kills, 38 digs and 11 blocks, while the Beavers managed just 41 kills, 26 digs and four blocks.
Bowles hit .600 with a match-high 16 kills to go along with a match-high 10 digs, and Elisabeth Bachman hit .818 with nine kills and eight blocks for the Bruins.
Bjeldanes, who hit .320 on the night, tied Shirley for the team lead in kills, with 12. Schmidt led OSU with six digs.
The Beavers return to action when they travel to Seattle for a match at Washington at 7 p.m., Friday, October 22.
Match Results
No. 6 UCLA 15 15 15 Oregon State 4 2 13
