The entire stadium covered in white, Colorado State University fans kept the noise level up as the Rams led 24-12 in the fourth set against UCLA women’s volleyball.
Coach Michael Sealy had to be honest with his team at some point: Sealy told the women during a timeout that they were not going to win the set, and that they needed to take a deep breath and start over in the next set.
“When we talked about it, we said “˜we’re not going to win this set.'” Sealy said. “We have to work on building momentum for the next one.”
After sweeping Pepperdine on Wednesday, UCLA had a difficult game against Colorado State on the road over the weekend.
From the beginning of the match against the Rams, the Bruins were playing catch up. The first set began with a five-point run from CSU but eventually UCLA took the lead to win the set.
The teams then alternated wins and the fourth-set loss pushed the Bruins to a fifth set. The game of catch up continued for UCLA into the fifth set as they could not gain a lead until the score was tied 10-10. The women ended up closing out the match winning the fifth set, 15-10.
Despite what might initially be perceived as a lack of motivation during the timeout, junior outside hitter Kelly Reeves credited the team’s turnaround to her coach’s talk.
“He was fired up, he looked us in the eyes and said we can do this,” Reeves said. “He motivated us and said we could do it. And he was with us 100 percent and he believed in us and that is always good when your coach tells you that.”
It wasn’t the first time this week Sealy motivated the women en route to their seven-game winning streak. Senior outside hitter Rachael Kidder spoke about what provoked the women’s 3-0 sweep in the match against Pepperdine.
“Our coaches really hyped up the fact that they were going to be good and this would be a big win for us,” Kidder said. “They motivated us by telling us exactly what we needed to do and having a good attitude about it and convincing us that we were capable of winning that match if we wanted to.”
Reeves, who still doesn’t know what position she will be playing for the season, is comfortable following Sealy’s lead.
“I am so happy we are doing great. I know it is what is best for the team.” Reeves said. “I am happy wherever Sealy puts me. I am just going take it, embrace it and do my best.”