Arizona d. UCLA 30-22, 30-22, 30-21
By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It was payback for No. 7 Arizona.
When the Wildcats played in Westwood on Sept. 28, the Bruins
stifled them in a three-game sweep. This time, it was No. 6 UCLA
that got the broom, losing 30-22, 30-22, 30-21.
Arizona, the team that had handed USC its first conference loss
on Thursday, dominated the match from the get-go.
“We had slow warm-ups, and that continued into first part
of match,” senior outside hitter Ashley Bowles said.
“It’s a tough place to play, and Arizona (15-3, 10-3
Pac-10) caught the momentum, which forced us to play catch-up for
the rest of the match.”
Service errors and inconsistent passing plagued the Bruins, and
playing without senior outside hitter Kristee Porter for the third
match in a row forced UCLA (11-5, 6-4) to refocus their offense,
utilizing junior outside hitter Lauren Fendrick and Bowles as the
main offensive options.
But the Bruins have put the situation in perspective. It forces
them to focus on other hitting options, giving other hitters a
chance to lead the way in the postseason.
“It’s been a good thing because it gives others the
chance to build confidence and show them that they are just as
capable of putting down balls,” senior Erika Selsor said.
“We’re looking at other options and seeing where we can
be successful, and it’s going to pay off at the
end.”
Both Fendrick and Bowles recorded 16 kills on the night, but the
next highest kill total was two, tallied by freshmen Brynn Murphy,
Heather Cullen and Brittany Ringel.
“For the most part, we all could have done better,”
Bowles said. “No one should be satisfied with how we were
playing, and no one was.”
But Arizona’s consistent execution was as much a factor in
the sweep as were UCLA’s errors.
The Wildcats hit at a .366 clip, while the Bruins finished with
a hitting percentage of .165. Blocking was a factor as well with
the Wildcats, who finished with 11 total blocks to UCLA’s
two.
“Arizona runs a diverse offense, and their outside hitters
are very respectable,” Bowles said. “They kept our
middles guessing.”
Junior outside hitter Shannon Torregrosa led the Wildcats with
16 kills, while juniors outside hitter Lisa Rutledge and middle
blocker Stefani Saragosa added nine kills each.
Even more frustrating for the Bruins than the loss is the fact
that UCLA seems to be in a rut. Just a week after pushing No. 3 USC
to five games without the help of Porter, the Bruins fell flat in
Tucson.
“It was disappointing that we couldn’t pull things
together like we did against “˜SC at home,” Fendrick
said. “It was disappointing that we didn’t progress as
a team, that the team as a whole didn’t play well.”