SALT LAKE CITY – Offensive struggles on Sunday in the Huntsman Center for Utah Volleyball saw the UCLA Bruins down Utah in three sets (25-18, 25-18, 26-24). Utah hit just .164 in the match compared to UCLA’s .256 hitting percentage, causing Utah to walk away with a weekend split against the pair of LA schools.
The Utes started the first set with the lead until the Bruins put together a 4-1 to take a lead at 11-10. The teams saw little separation before UCLA scored five points in a row, forcing a Utah timeout after trailing 18-13. Out of the break, Utah scored four of the next five points to trim the lead to 19-17. Later a kill from Allie Olsen would put the score at 21-18 in favor of UCLA, but the Bruins picked up steam and scored four in a row to end the set 25-18.
Utah played from behind the entire second set and eventually saw UCLA pull out ahead 14-10. The Utes used a block from Viktoria Wahlgren and a kill from Lauren Jardine to later pull within two points (16-14), but a 3-0 run from the Bruins extended the lead to 19-14. Utah’s quiet offense was unable to counter with a large run of its own and the Bruins would hold on for the 25-18 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Utah struggled to get going offensively in both of the opening sets, hitting .098 in the first set and .054 in the second. The Utes turned it around with a much better offensive attack in the third set, recording a .375 hitting percentage.
Despite Utah beginning to…
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