Not to say that the locker room was gloomy after the UCLA
women’s volleyball team dropped the first two games of
Saturday’s match to Washington State, but the squad must have
felt as though it was walking the Pac-10 plank.
The Bruins were just one game away from falling to 1-3 in the
Pac-10 with a pair of difficult road games at California and No. 4
Stanford looming on the horizon.
Then suddenly and unexpectedly, they turned things around.
Playing with intensity and even desperation, the Bruins stormed
back behind a balanced offensive attack, leveling their conference
record with a come-from-behind victory over No. 18 Washington State
at Pauley Pavilion 25-30, 26-30, 30-25, 30-26, 15-12.
“We had our backs to the wall, and we came out on
top,” said Andy Banachowski, head coach of the No. 17 Bruins
(9-5, 2-2). “The way we felt coming off of last
weekend’s losses, the prospects weren’t great that we
would be able to beat Washington State. It really boosts our
confidence, and restores the morale of the players.”
Six Bruins hit in double digits with sophomore Brittany Ringel
leading the way with 17 kills.
Early in the match, UCLA struggled in all facets of the game as
the Cougars capitalized on cautious passes and listless play from
the Bruins to take the first two games in convincing fashion.
Washington State’s Adrian Hankoff had six of her match-high
21 kills in the opening game as the Cougars appeared to be on their
way to a rare road victory at Pauley Pavilion.
In the locker room, the mood was somber as UCLA struggled to
find some way to turn things around.
“There was more of a sense of despair than urgency,”
Banachowski said. “We were drained, and the break really gave
us time to collect ourselves. We just had to play with a little bit
more energy, and they realized that and really stepped it
up.”
The Bruins made only minor tactical changes between games, but
the renewed defensive intensity made all the difference. Libero
Chrissie Zartman recorded 17 of her team-high 27 digs after the
break, and the entire team scrambled all over the court in order to
retrieve balls and extend points.
“We just turned it on when we got back out here and played
like there was no score,” said senior Lauren Fendrick who had
14 kills including the match-winner at 14-12 in game five.
“Everybody stuck together and played like a team.”
After building a 29-21 lead in game three, UCLA hung on to win
30-25 when Ringel buried a Haley Jorgensborg pass through the
middle of the Cougar defense for the decisive kill.
The momentum carried over to game four as the Bruins zoomed out
to a 5-1 lead, and seemed to be in good position to extend the
match to a fifth game. With UCLA leading comfortably 22-17,
two-time All Pac-10 selection LaToya Harris led the comeback, as
the Cougars notched six consecutive points off of her serve to take
a 23-22 lead.
Nonetheless, the Bruins showed tremendous composure, battling
back to win game four and dominating the net to take game five.
Cira Wright had three kills and one of her team-high six blocks in
the final game during which the Bruins never trailed en route to
the victory.
“It was a huge weekend for us,” said Banachowski,
whose squad earned its first Pac-10 victory of the season Friday
night, sweeping past Washington in three straight games.
“It’s a matter of getting comfortable with one
another on the court. We need to travel a little faster as far as
our progress goes, but this was certainly a positive step this
weekend.”