The Niagara volleyball team opened its season with a straight set defeat to the No. 12 UCLA Bruins on Friday in the LMU Invitational.
Niagara played its first-ever match with the UCLA Bruins, who are the highest ranked opponent Niagara has played since facing eventual national champion Penn State in the 2010 NCAA Tournament First Round.
A trio of runs by the Bruins in the each set broke open a tight match. NU trailed 5-3 in the opening set before UCLA built a 17-8 lead en route to taking the set. A kill by Alex Stone brought NU within one (7-6) in the second set, but the Bruins answered with a 7-1 spurt. The Purple Eagles had an early lead (2-1) in the third set, before an 11-3 run by UCLA seized control of the set.
Freshman outside hitter Caroline Leitch led Niagara in kills with eight, which were tied for second most in the match. Junior setter Alexis Gray had a team-high 11 assists to go along with four digs. Nicole Matheis and Rylee Hunt shared team-high honors in digs with eight. Five Purple Eagles made their debuts: Madison May, Caroline Leitch, Cameron Maris, Aleksandra Steins and Jada Carrol.
Head Coach Vilis Ozols said, “UCLA played us very tough. They’re obviously a top-ranked team in the country, but they also played very well against us. We did have some great plays and our team showed some of the characteristics that will define us. It was a good first outing with several freshmen.”
The Purple Eagles continue action in the LMU Invitational on Saturday against the host No. 21 LMU and Illinois State.
From PurpleEagles.com.
