Downtown Los Angeles is chalk full of towering buildings, and
fittingly the USC women’s volleyball team has a couple of
skyscrapers across its front line.
Nonetheless, according to UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski, it
was not the size of the Women of Troy so much as the No. 13
Bruins’ own inability to finish points that was the decisive
factor in Friday night’s 3-0 drubbing at the hands of No. 1
USC.
“I thought we were a little tentative with our swings at
points, and certainly USC’s size had something to do with
that,” Banachowski said. “But there were points where
we had some openings, and ended up making errors instead of
capitalizing on the opportunities.”
Facing a Trojan squad that features the Pac-10’s tallest
middle blocking tandem in 6 feet, 5 inches Emily Adams and 6 feet,
3 inches Katie Olsovsky, UCLA (12-7, 5-4) attempted to vary their
shots offensively.
Time and time again, the Bruins manufactured chances for their
outside hitters, but they were unable to convert them consistently.
The squad had as many errors as kills in the first two games, and
finished the match-up with an handicapping hitting percentage of
.034.
Sophomore Brittany Ringel led the Bruins with just nine kills,
while the team’s primary offensive weapon, senior Lauren
Fendrick managed a paltry six kills in 34 total attempts.
“We made amazing opportunities for ourselves, and we just
didn’t finish them,” said sophomore outside hitter
Heather Cullen, who had six kills in the match. “There was
always one on one on our outside hitters. The sharp angle was open
all night.”
Whether it was a by-product of the team’s mediocre play, a
hostile Trojan crowd, or a USC defense that is among the
nation’s best, the Bruins could not establish an offensive
rhythm at any point during the match.
The squad never could string together a long run, and seemingly
played from behind throughout the evening.
“We had some opportunities to get into the game, but we
couldn’t sustain them,” said Banachowski, whose team
has lost nine of its last 12 games against USC. “I thought
that was the difference tonight.”
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Playing in front of a packed house at the Lyon Center was a test
of the some of young Bruins’ character. Over 1,200 cardinal
and gold clad fans lined the court, but UCLA managed to keep its
poise throughout much of the match.
“It’s part of the USC-UCLA rivalry,” said
starting setter Krystal McFarland. “There are going to be
fans yelling and the band is going to be playing. It doesn’t
really bother me. You just have to block it out and focus on
playing.”
Cullen actually credited the USC band with motivating her to
play better with their verbal barbs.
“When we were warming up I was getting excited because the
band was so loud,” she said. “They didn’t affect
me, but I could tell they got into some other people’s
heads.”
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The Bruins have struggled with their serves collectively
throughout the season, and they made some crucial errors against
the Trojans.
After falling behind 5-1 to start game two, UCLA valiantly
battled back, but four critical service errors in the game
prevented them from ever grabbing the lead. The Bruins were
tentative serving the ball throughout the match, and seemed
unwilling to go for the big shot.
“When you get too cautious, you make errors,”
Banachowski said. “We were trying to hit some specific spots.
Those four errors were costly.”