Two days after dominating the field at the Albuturkey tournament
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the UCLA women’s volleyball
players braced themselves and hoped for good news. The NCAA
tournament brackets were announced Sunday night, but unfortunately
for the Bruins, the draw wasn’t kind.
UCLA methodically pummeled Rice, Butler and New Mexico over the
weekend, winning all three matches without dropping a single game.
Sophomore Brynn Murphy was named tournament MVP and junior Cira
Wright and freshman Chrissie Zartman were named to the
All-Tournament team.
“We came out strong and took care of what we had
to,” sophomore Krystal McFarland said. “We got some
good momentum for the tournament.”
In addition, Zartman set a school record, becoming the first
Bruin ever to record 500 digs in a single year, finishing the
regular season with 504.
Despite a mediocre Pac-10 season, the team hoped that an
impressive weekend might help its postseason case and improve its
draw position. Instead, UCLA now has to dig in and face an old
foe.
The Bruins will play Long Beach State in the opening round, the
very same team that knocked the Bruins out of the playoffs in last
year’s Regional Final.
Some circumstances have changed, however. Last year’s
match featured two powerhouses playing for a trip to the Final
Four. In that match, the 49ers swept the Bruins to remain
undefeated, but they would eventually lose to Stanford in the
championship game.
This time around neither team is ranked, and both teams would be
hard-pressed to advance that far again. Still, the match will
undoubtedly be extremely tough for UCLA.
“They’re a very high-powered offensive team that
also plays great defense,” head coach Andy Banachowski said.
“I’m disappointed that we have to face them so
soon.”
Even if the Bruins manage to get past the 49ers, the team will
probably have to face No. 9 Pepperdine in Firestone Fieldhouse, the
Waves’ home court. Only three weeks ago, Pepperdine swept the
Bruins in Pauley Pavilion. Faced with such difficult opponents in
early rounds, there is little wonder as to how the team reacted to
the announcement.
“Initially, I was a little shocked,” McFarland said.
“But I think it would be great to have a rematch and a chance
to prove ourselves.”
One redeeming quality of the draw might be the proximity to the
host school. Since the opening rounds will be held in Malibu, the
team won’t have to travel very far. In addition, more fans
will be able to make the 20-minute drive and support their
team.
“I hope we have a strong following,” Banachowski
said. “It would be great to have all our fans out
there.”