Volleyball thrashes Cal at Harmon Gym
Bears hit just .020
as No. 3 UCLA
wins in one hour
By Eric Branch
Daily Bruin Staff
BERKELEY — The third-ranked UCLA women’s volleyball team rolled
to its 12th straight victory in Harmon Gym Friday night, crushing
the California Golden Bears, 15-1, 15-6, 17-15, in just over an
hour.
"We played extremely well in the first two games," UCLA head
coach Andy Banachowski said. "We moved people around a little in
game three and that created some confusion."
Senior outside hitter Annett Buckner had a field day with the
smallish Cal block, tallying 17 kills with a .467 hitting
percentage. Buckner’s smashes accounted for four of the Bruins’
first six points.
The momentum from the 10-minute, first-game dismantling carried
to the second game as the Bruins raced out to a 13-3 advantage.
Johnson collected five of her eight kills on the night in the
second frame.
The Bruins, statistically one of the top blocking teams in the
nation, stuffed the Bears a mere seven times on the night, but they
held Cal to a paltry .020 hitting percentage by coming up with 44
digs.
"We really hustled tonight," Banachowski said. "I was pleased
with the effort, we weren’t looking ahead to Stanford."
Banachowski employed a different look in the third game,
substituting freshman setter Kim Coleman for starter Kelly
Flannigan and letting freshman outside hitter Kara Milling handle
some setting duties.
The result was a third game that saw the Bears battle from a
14-11 deficit to 15 apiece. However, junior middle blocker Michelle
Mauney served an ace and the Bears were called for a lift to end
the match.