UCLA d. Washington 15-6, 15-6, 15-8
By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Friday night’s match with the Washington Huskies meant
much more to the No. 7 UCLA women’s volleyball team than just
a conference win in the the final Pac-10 standings.
For a squad trying to smooth out all the rough edges, the
Bruins’ 15-6, 15-6, 15-8 triumph over Washington (7-18, 2-15
Pac-10) marked one of their last chances to put the pieces of their
championship puzzle together.
UCLA (20-7, 14-4) was able to bring back the luster of its
passing and service games after a tough loss the night before to
Washington State. Five Bruins hit over .400 against the Huskies in
Seattle, solidifying a third-place finish in the Pac-10 behind USC
and conference champion Arizona.
“We wanted to win that game (against Washington
State),” UCLA outside hitter Kristee Porter said. “But
some nights, things don’t go right or the way we expect them
to. No matter what we did, everything seemed to go their way on
Thursday. Not winning the Pac-10 was disappointing but we
can’t really dwell on it. We need to focus on the postseason
now and two more games this week.”
Porter led five UCLA players to post double digit kills,
notching 19 kills and 22 digs against the Huskies. She hit for a
.467 clip on 30 attacks.
The Bruins also got a huge spark from the bench with the play of
freshman opposite hitter Alyssa Rylander, who played in place of
regular starter Lauren Fendrick and recorded a double-double of 10
kills and 10 digs.
“(Alyssa) stepped in for Fendrick and played well,”
junior outside hitter Ashley Bowles said. “She talked and
kept good eye contact in letting us know her assignments. We want
(the younger players) to feel like they belong on the court when
they come into the game.”
UCLA had efficient play along the back row, making fewer
mistakes in its passing schemes. More accurate passing provided the
Bruins with more scoring opportunities, and they were got into a
rhythm they feel few can match.
“There’s no team that we are fearful of,”
Porter said. “We know that the ability is there. We can play
teams like (No. 1) Nebraska. We are prepared to play anyone,
anywhere.
“We sat down and ironed out the wrinkles that hurt us
against Washington State and it helped against Washington. We know
that we have to ability to play like that every night.”
UCLA senior middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman posted 15 kills and
four blocks on Friday night, while Bowles hammered 15 kills and
picked up six digs on the outside.
Freshman outside hitter Ella Harley added 10 kills of her
own.
The Bruins close out their regular season schedule this week in
Texas at the Baylor Thanksgiving Classic. UCLA will play unranked
Connecticut on Friday and either Baylor or UNLV on Saturday.