When women’s volleyball coach Andy Banachowski was told UCLA had a 45-1 overall record against its opponent tonight, No. 19 Oregon (14-4, 3-3 Pac-10), he was taken aback, unconvinced that the Bruin program had such a big edge over such a strong opponent.
“I think we have a good record against (Oregon) but I didn’t think it was quite that good,” Banachowski said. “If it is I’ll be impressed.”
Indeed, the No. 4 Bruins (14-2, 4-1) hold a virtually flawless record against the Ducks, but Banachowski and the team won’t be going into the match taking anything for granted. UCLA will conclude its three-match home stand at Pauley Pavilion tonight against Oregon and then against unranked Oregon State on Friday, hoping to come out with a three-match win streak.
“Even though (the Oregon schools) aren’t ranked as high as other Pac-10 teams, Oregon is still in the top 25 and Oregon State improved a lot from last year,” libero Jade Machado said. “We’re going to go out there playing hard and hopefully we’ll come out with two wins.”
Despite the lopsided history between the two schools, the Ducks presently hold the advantage offensively over the Bruins. Oregon is outhitting UCLA .285 to .233, and its junior standout, Gorana Maricic, is leading the conference with 5.17 kills per game.
“Maricic seems to be not only their most consistent player but the one they go to the most often,” Banachowski said. “We’ll certainly be keying in on her.”
Even though it does not have the same offensive firepower as its opponent, UCLA is ready to roll with the punches and trade blows. The Bruins will be relying on something other than a hard-hitting offense, however.
“I think that the strength of our team, according to Andy, is that we’re going to be a really good defensive team this year,” Machado said.
Led by Machado in the back row, the Bruins lead the Pac-10 with 18.26 digs per game. The team’s scrappiness and solid passing was a huge factor in upsetting the then-fourth-ranked USC Trojans last week, and it will be expected to come through in the clutch tonight as well.
“Like everyone says, defense wins games,” setter Nellie Spicer said. “That will be able to frustrate their hitters and then the more frustrated they get the more emotionally out of the game they’ll get. I think it’ll be a pretty good match-up for us.”
UCLA will also need to be on the defensive should Oregon come out with a 6-2 rotation, in which the Ducks will have two setters instead of one. This type of rotation would allow them to have three hitters in the front row and one setter in the back row at all times, Banachowski said.
“It makes us have to stay alert and we’ll be on our toes whether their setter is front court or back court,” Banachowski added. “We’re going to have to be very familiar and very alert in order to control them.”
INJURY UPDATE: As of Tuesday, middle blocker Rachell Johnson had not participated in the week’s practices because of her right ankle, which she sprained during the match against USC on Friday. Emily Clements and Meghan Schoen are battling for the starting spot should Johnson not be able to compete.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed,” Banachowski said. “Right now I would say at best it’s 50-50.”