After a winless road trip to start the season, Hurricanes volleyball returned home hoping to get their season into gear with a doubleheader against UCLA.
But after getting swept by the Bruins on Friday, Miami was unable to regroup on Saturday, suffering another sweep and starting the season 0-4.
UCLA’s Size Advantage:
It was immediately obvious to anyone around the court that UCLA held the size advantage over the Canes. The Bruins have seven players on the roster listed above 6 feet compared to Miami’s total of just three.
The most notable members of the Bruins are 6-foot-7 Hazel Avelok and 6-foot-4 Marianna Singletary.
Singletary led the Bruins with 11 kills and two aces on Saturday, while sophomore Ava Utterback and Mija Bendziute each tallied 10 kills of their own. UCLA’s gameplan was heavily dependent on quick kills, while Miami tried to make the Bruins cover ground and pass to each other. Throughout both Friday’s and Saturday’s match, the Canes consistently tried to force long rallies that were killed by the Bruins.
Singletary and sophomore hitter Eliana Urzua set the tone early on offensively, spiking the ball hard enough that Hurricane players were fully knocked over on multiple occasions.
A bright spot for Miami defensively however was redshirt senior Gaby Arroyo. Miami’s libero tallied a whopping eight digs in response to the Bruins’ offensive barrage and cemented herself as a vocal leader for the Hurricanes throughout the match.
Offensively for Miami, Asia Harvey was a machine. Her 17 kills marked the most of anybody on either team.
Key Moments:
While each set was extremely close, the defining moment of the match came in the middle of the third set while UCLA was leading 16-14.
A long rally between the two teams ended with a simple volley from UCLA’s Singletary, which hit the Hurricanes side of the floor due to miscommunication between the Hurricanes. This momentum proved to be all the Bruins needed and the Bruins outlasted the Hurricanes 25-23 and walked away from Coral Gables with a whopping 6-0 record in sets against the Canes.
Miami looks to turn the season around in Gainesville against Florida on Wednesday while the Bruins look to build on their 4-1 start in Utah next week, where they travel to both Utah State and BYU.
Saturday’s Scores:
Set 1: UCLA 26, Miami 24
Set 2: UCLA 25, Miami 23
Set 3: UCLA 25, Miami 23