PULLMAN, Wash. – 25th-ranked Washington State (21-9, 13-6 Pac-12) fell in a tightly contested fifth set, 15-11, as they were unable to complete the comeback in a 3-2 loss at the hands of UCLA (16-12, 10-9 Pac-12) on Tuesday night in Bohler Gym.
WSU led 8-7 at the fifth-set changeover and went up 9-7 before the Bruins closed the match with a 6-2 run to finish off the upset on the road. The Cougars went into the match with a 3-1 record in five-setters on the season but suffered a match-low .158 hitting percentage in the fifth set of Tuesday’s loss.
Pia Timmer had a match-high 23 kills and hit .268 (23-8-56) and Argentina Ung fell just one kills shy of her season-high for a second consecutive match, finishing with seven kills and zero errors (7-0-17, .412). Magda Jehlarova finished with a season-high five solo blocks and also added nine kills while hitting .421 (9-1-19). Laura Jansen finished with 11 kills and a pair of aces on the night and Karly Basham tallied 22 digs, just one shy of her season-high.
The Cougs nearly dropped the opening two sets for what would have been only the sixth time all season as UCLA won the first and led 21-19 late in the second. Washington State went on a 5-0 that was capped by one of Jehlarova’s five solo blocks to quickly steal a set point at 24-21. UCLA earned one sideout before the Cougs evened up the match with a 25-22 second-set win.
UCLA had momentum early but the Cougs came storming back and…
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