After a clever tip over the net by freshman middle blocker Brooke Harwood set UCLA up 24-22 in the first set, all of the momentum seemed to lie with the Bruins.
Despite the Hoosiers pouncing to a swift 7-1 advantage to begin the match, the ladies from Westwood dug in, rallied and found themselves at the game’s first set point, poised to steal the lead.
They would never be this close again. Not for the next set, or the one after that.
UCLA women’s volleyball (9-3, 0-1 Big Ten) fell 3-0 in straight sets to No. 18 Indiana (8-2, 1-0) on Thursday evening at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington.
Both teams marked the beginning of their Big Ten campaigns; however, it was Indiana who maintained a steady gap over the Bruins and kicked off conference play with a convincing victory. UCLA, despite reaching set point with two chances to take the first set, conceded three consecutive points to the Hoosiers before ultimately dropping the set 27-25.
And while the Bruins overcame a sluggish start and posed a real threat to win set one before falling just short, they could never muster up the same momentum in the remaining two sets.
Harwood led the blue and gold with nine kills, while outside hitter Jaidyn Jager and middle blocker Ella Boersema notched double-digit kills to pace Indiana.
Having entered the match with only two losses against No. 3 Kentucky and No. 25 BYU, UCLA demonstrated a continued inability to defeat a ranked opponent. The Bruins were outkilled 45-35 and hit only .150 compared to Indiana’s .238, including a rough third set where the Bruins hit .067, a number still buoyed by a consolatory 4-0 run near the end of the match.
Junior setter Kate Duffey ended her night with 28 assists, while sophomore outside hitter Eliana Urzua and senior outside hitter Maggie Li hit a mere .150 and .000, respectively, despite finishing third and fourth on the team in kills last season.
Indiana jumped to another quick lead in set two, going up 5-1 before the Bruins briefly tied things up at 6-6. Yet, the Hoosiers never relinquished their lead before winning set two, and then led by as many as eight points in set three before putting UCLA away for their first conference defeat.
The Bruins look to rebound in another Big Ten matchup at Northwestern on Saturday, Sep. 26, at 5 p.m. PT.
