Tuesday, November 10, 1998
UCLA volleyball squad back with a vengeance
RECAP: Women improve to third place in Pac-10 after defeating
Wildcats
By Audrey Jing
Daily Bruin Contributor
Go home, Arizona.
The UCLA women’s volleyball team sent both the Wildcats and the
Sun Devils packing after three games in last weekend’s sweep over
the Arizona teams. The Bruins downed Arizona on Sunday in the John
Wooden Center and Arizona State last Friday in Pauley Pavilion.
After losing a close five-game match to Arizona earlier in the
season, a new and improved Bruin team knocked out the Wildcats
15-10, 15-3, 15-13 in a show of determination and confidence.
"Our main goal was to play better," said coach Andy Banachowski.
"We wanted to play better than we played last time when we lost in
five (games). We’re a much better team now, and we wanted to show
that. When you go out and beat a team 3-0, that makes a
statement."
Steady play was the name of UCLA’s game, as solid passing,
blocking and hitting from the very start powered the Bruins to
victory. Both the offense and defense seemed to be taking care of
business; the Bruins posted a strong team hitting percentage of
.418, while also keeping Arizona hitters at bay with a focused
defense.
"We watched our game from last time before we played, and we
realized that we weren’t far enough back to dig the balls they were
hitting," freshman Kristee Porter said. "We focused on blocking –
which girls we were going to block at a certain angle and which
girls were going to block the line. That turned out to work pretty
well."
UCLA couldn’t complain about the all-around strength of its
offense either.
Sophomore Elisabeth Bachman, freshman Ashley Bowles and Porter
led the Bruins, each posting double figures in hitting. Bachman hit
.654 with 17 kills, while Bowles added 19 kills to hit .450. Porter
recorded her 11th outing over the 20-kill mark, hitting at .340
with 28 kills.
UCLA had already garnered a win on its shoulders coming in to
the Arizona matchup, as it opened the weekend with a 15-13, 16-14,
15-4 win over Arizona State on Friday night.
This was the Bruins’ second 3-0 win over Arizona State, as they
defeated the Sun Devils 15-11, 15-3, 15-2 in Tempe earlier this
season. Despite coming in to Friday’s match with this previous
victory, the Bruins knew they would have to battle for a win.
"We knew ASU was going to be a tough opponent," Bachman said.
"Every team in the Pac-10 is improving. We knew we were going up
against a different team than last time."
The match started out as an uphill battle for the Bruins, as
both offensive and defensive troubles kept them trailing for almost
the entire first game.
After losing the lead at 2-1, the Bruins fought to tie the score
at 13 and eventually take the game. The second game told a similar
story, with UCLA coming back from behind with some key blocks to
pull out the win in deuce scoring.
After the slow start, a more focused UCLA team roared back out
on the court to dominate game three. The Bruins stepped up their
level of play with fewer errors, tough serving and strong blocking
to finish off the match.
Most of the Bruins’ initial troubles came from a complacent
offense and lack of defense against ASU’s strong counter attack.
ASU outside hitters Amanda Burbridge and Jami Coughlin kept UCLA on
guard, posting 15 and 13 kills, respectively.
"We weren’t playing our best volleyball, and the whole team knew
we could play better," Bachman said. "We did the things we needed
to do as individuals and as a team. Once we got our spark, the rest
just followed."
Despite facing strong Sun Devil blocking, outside hitters
Porter, Bowles and Bachman recorded 19, 18 and 12 kills
respectively. Erica Selsor, the glue of the Bruin offense, provided
50 assists while senior Chaska Potter dominated the back row with
12 digs, a team high.
With their double win this weekend, the Bruins improved their
record to 11-10 overall and 10-4 in the Pac-10, earning themselves
a third place conference ranking. With the NCAA tournament
approaching, the Bruins must finish the season with a record over
.500 to earn a tournament berth.
"We know it’s important that we need to win, but we’re not
feeling any extreme pressure over it," Selsor said.
"We’re confident in what we know we’re capable of. We can play
with any of the teams that are left in our schedule. And if we play
with them, we can beat them."
The Bruins travel up to Washington this weekend to face
Washington State on Friday and Washington on Sunday.
BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin
Ashley Bowles smashes the ball past an ASU blocker and helped
UCLA defeat Arizona in three straight games.
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