MALIBU ““ Long Beach State head coach Brian Gimmillaro will
be home today, but not under the circumstances he was hoping
for.
After the 49ers grumbled all week about not having the chance to
host their first two postseason matches, the UCLA women’s
volleyball team provided a figurative gag order.
The No. 21 Bruins (20-13) silenced their opponent on and off the
court, sweeping past No. 9 Long Beach State (28-4) in the first
round of the NCAA Tournament at the Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu,
California 30-25, 30-27, 30-21.
UCLA will advance to face No. 8 Pepperdine (24-6) Friday night
in the second round of the tournament.
“Going into the match, I thought we could play with Long
Beach State,” said UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski, whose
squad lost to the 49ers in three games last year in the NCAA West
Regional Finals. “The team played hard from start to finish.
Everybody had to contribute, and we did that in fine
style.”
The Bruins had lost seven straight matches to teams ranked ahead
of them, but they turned things around against Long Beach State.
Employing a balanced attack led by sophomore Heather Cullen’s
10 kills, UCLA dominated every facet of the match, handing the
49ers their earliest playoff exit since 1987.
“They outplayed us in every part of the game,”
Gimmillaro said. “I saw players on their team play better
than I’ve ever seen them play.”
Throughout the season, the Bruins have been tantalizingly close
to knocking off some of the top teams in the nation, but have
lacked the killer instinct to pull off a victory. Behind a solid
blocking effort last night, UCLA finally finished the job.
Holding a slim 28-27 lead in the second game of the match, the
Bruins lobbed a free ball over the net, giving the 49ers their best
chance to regain the momentum. Instead, freshman Nancy Barba
stuffed Long Beach State’s Kessie Doering at the net, and
UCLA closed out the game on the ensuing point.
“It was really nice to finally finish our games,”
senior outside hitter Lauren Fendrick said. “In the past we
would play teams even to a certain point, and then we would crawl
inside our own shell and make mistakes. It was great to see us
overcome that.”
Watching the squad progress over the course of the season,
Banachowski felt the talent was in place to defeat a top-ten team.
He became convinced they could upset Long Beach State in light of
the team’s intensity leading up to the match.
“The way we practiced yesterday gave me a lot of
confidence that tonight could be the night,” Banachowski
said. “We just were sharp in everything we did.”
One of keys to the victory for the Bruins was their ability to
hold All Big West setter Brittany Hochevar in check. The 49ers
career leader in aces did not record a single one against the
Bruins, and never was a factor in the match.
“That was very important for us to not allow an extended
run on her serve,” Banachowski said. “We were very
steady with our passing all night.”
UCLA will need an equally consistent all-around performance
against Pepperdine tonight if they hope to pull another upset. The
Waves swept the Bruins earlier this season at Pauley Pavilion
behind 17 kills from junior Lindsay Hache.
“We will definitely sell the revenge factor against
Pepperdine too,” UCLA assistant coach Kim Jagd said.
“We would love to get them back.”
The Bruins will have their chance at vindication tonight, and
another highly touted rival could be headed home early.