As the Pac-10 season winds to a close, the UCLA women’s
volleyball team finds itself right back where it started. The final
two conference opponents are the very same teams the Bruins (15-12,
8-8 Pac-10) faced to start the season. UCLA will play Arizona State
(12-9, 8-8) today and No. 16 Arizona (15-9, 10-6) on Friday in the
final two home matches of the season.
Although the Bruins have historically dominated these matchups,
the squad was upset first by Arizona 3-1 and then by Arizona State
with the same score. Even now, UCLA is still trying to crawl out of
the hole they fell into in the beginning of the season.
“We owe them,” Bruin head coach Andy Banachowski
said. “It’s time for some payback.”
Of the two games, both players and coach point to Arizona State
as being the key match. The Bruins are 47-6 all-time against the
Sun Devils, 24-1 in Pauley Pavilion, and UCLA has yet to lose to a
team ranked below them at home. The old adage of “˜beating
teams you should beat’ definitely applies here.
“I think it’s certainly the biggest match,”
Banachowski said. “We have to beat the teams ranked below us.
We haven’t been able to do so with teams ranked above
us.”
Unfortunately for the Bruins, the Wildcats are indeed ranked
above them ““ third in the Pac-10 overall. If the team cannot
manage a victory over Arizona, their playoff position will likely
suffer. Therefore, it is absolutely critical that UCLA finds a way
to win tonight.
“A win will definitely give us confidence going into the
postseason,” Banachowski said.
Still, the team is not focused on just one opponent. While a win
against Arizona State might secure a playoff berth, two victories
would allow the Bruins to finish third in the Pac-10, right where
they were predicted to finish all along.
“I think it’s very important to get both
games,” senior Lauren Fendrick said. “If we get both
we’ll end up third in the Pac-10, and that will be huge for
the NCAAs.”
Her teammate, sophomore Krystal McFarland, agrees.
“Both Arizonas are big matches, but not only for the
standings,” she said. “We’ll get a much better
route in the tournament if we get both.”