Written Story: Walter Hines

On Sunday afternoon, the 19th ranked UCLA Bruins looked to keep their undefeated record going against the Oregon Ducks in their second match series of the weekend here in Eugene. However, the Ducks were able to kill any hopes of an undefeated season for the Bruins, winning in a sweep and improving their record to 2-2. UCLA fell to 3-1.  

UCLA seemed to be just offbeat, and the Ducks capitalized staying hot all match with an increase in effort plays from Friday. “Our movement was really good and we picked up a lot of balls that we didn’t pick up Friday, and I thought that showed UCLA that your going to have a hard time scoring tonight, and set the tone for us early,” Coach Matt Ulmer stated.

The Ducks were able to ride the hot hands of Gloria Mutiri and Taylor Borup who finished with 22 kills total and a hitting percentage of 42.5%. But cohesive team play led the Ducks to the win this afternoon. After the match Mutiri spoke on the teams need for a high amount of communication: “We don’t get to spend a lot of time together as a group, so – every single match I am learning something new about my teammates and how we play together, and we are communicating and just being very direct.”

Head Coach Matt Ulmer spoke about the team’s improved activity in the middle: “I think our setters took Friday to heart…but we just haven’t had that much time together, and so it’s going to be hit or miss, but I think today showed what we’re capable of.” 

The Ducks also limited the Bruins to just 38 kills and two total blocks; an improvement from the 61 kills the Ducks gave up in Friday’s series. 

“Right out of the gate we were like let’s make a promise to ourselves to be aggressive and competitive each and every point,” said Mutiri. 

Looking to improve off of this weekend’s series split, Head Coach Matt Ulmer and the Ducks will flock to Los Angeles next week for their two-game series against the USC Trojans on Friday and Sunday. 

Audio Story: Ryan Milano

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