No. 10 ASU women’s volleyball gave up huge games to No. 12 UCLA middle blockers in a 3-0 loss (21-25, 16-25, 28-30).
For the Bruins (15-3, 6-2 Pac-12) Junior middle blockers Jennie Frager and Claire Felix combined for 23 kills and no errors. Together, they hit .639.
ASU’s own middle blocker had a strong game for the Sun Devils (15-4, 4-4 Pac-12). Senior Whitney Follette made a move from the middle to the opposite side against USC on Friday night and stayed there against UCLA. She has been ASU’s most consistent offense weapon since the move, but her vacancy in the middle was part of what allowed Frager and Felix to break out.
Frager had some powerful hits right up the middle that senior middle blockers Mercedes Binns and Andi Lowrance couldn’t affect the trajectory of, and Felix had a slide attack that was statistically almost unstoppable.
The first set’s score was close, but UCLA outplayed ASU on both ends. The Bruins hit .286 and the Sun Devils hit just .147, a statistic that was escalated by Follette’s .500 in the set.
She was the only real weapon for the Sun Devils in the first two sets. She had nine kills and two errors after they were over; the others combined for a .041 hitting percentage.
ASU’s defense was lacking, even though its net presence was adequate, getting in the way of some hits and recording six blocks in the two sets, but the back row was unable to consistently recover UCLA hits.
ASU had 19 digs in the first sets. UCLA had 26.
Additionally, small errors hampered ASU’s comeback efforts. UCLA’s first two points in the second set came off ASU service errors, and the Sun Devils had several net violations in the match.
As the second set closed, UCLA was hitting .333 as a team. Three players hit above .350: Felix (.636), Frager (.750) and junior outside hitter Jordan Anderson, who had 11 kills and a .368 hitting percentage.
ASU adjusted in the third set. Defensively, the team was able to read UCLA hits better, as the Sun Devils dug 24 hits in the set, and junior outside hitter BreElle Bailey became active. She got five kills in six attempts, prompting ASU to a 15-7 lead.
During that time, Anderson had nine hits. Zero were kills and six were errors.
Bailey got stuck in a spot in the rotation where she didn’t have many opportunities. UCLA went on a 10-2 run to tie the score at 17; during the span, Bailey had just three hits.
She got ASU back on the board with three quick kills, putting ASU up 21-18.
UCLA fought back. Felix had three kills, and Frager and Jordan each had a pair as the set went into extra rallies.
With the score tied at 24, freshman outside hitter Lexi MacLean dove toward the net to save a softly hit ball. She slid under the net, resulting in a point awarded to UCLA.
The Bruins took the first point that prompted a back-and-forth period. They blocked Bailey to end the match at 30-28.
ASU has yet to win a match since senior outside hitter Macey Gardner went down with a torn ACL.
Junior outside hitter Kizzy Ricedorff did not play due to a hand injury.
Related Links:
No. 10 ASU volleyball prepares for No. 1 USC, No. 12 UCLA teams without two outside hitters
No. 5 ASU women's volleyball struggles without Macey Gardner, swept by Washington State
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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