LOS ANGELES – UCLA hit the Huskies with their best shot, but the Dawgs got up and kept coming, and eventually wore down the Bruins to take a big early season road win at Pauley Pavilion. 18th-ranked Washington (10-2) completed a 2-0 opening Pac-12 week and won its sixth-straight overall with a 21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19 victory in an ESPNU televised match.
The Bruins saw their standout outside hitter Charitie Luper return to the starting lineup for the first time since UW was last at Pauley Pavilion near the end of the 2021 regular season, and Luper helped UCLA hit a scorching .625 in the first set. But the Huskies stayed focused, adjusted, and after taking a tight second set, UW cooled UCLA down to .179 and .188 attack percentages in the final two sets to pull away.
“Things steadily improved at the net and behind it after the first set,” said Head Coach Keegan Cook. “We talked about turning it into a grittier match and extending some rallies, and that things would get better for us if we did that. Little by little we did, and we were really steady siding out as well. We talked about last year, we were in this same environment and situation, and we felt like we missed that moment, and we were determined not to miss it again. So really proud of the performance.”
BIG DAWG WIN!! 2?-0? in Pac-12#PointHuskies pic.twitter.com/EujuOa1rNJ
— Washington Volleyball (@UWVolleyball) September…
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