Their smiles might have faded momentarily, but their strength
remained.
For the members of the UCLA women’s volleyball team, depth
was the key to beating Oregon State 30-20, 29-31, 30-24, 30-24
Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion.
But it wasn’t necessarily pretty for the Bruins (9-2, 1-1
Pac-10), who dropped their first game all season to an unranked
opponent. On game point in Game 2, star libero Chrissie Zartman
shanked a service reception, and starting setter Krystal McFarland
sent a free ball long.
“We didn’t play that good,” said junior
outside hitter Heather Cullen, who led the Bruins with 14 kills.
“We didn’t do the little things. We were
sloppy.”
Before Game 3, UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski lifted
McFarland, a junior, in favor of sophomore Haley Jorgensborg so
that the middle blockers would be set better.
“(Banachowski) was disappointed in our attitude,”
Jorgensborg said. “We were kind of freaked out.”
Banachowski said, “The players off the bench did a great
job.”
With starting outside hitter junior Brittany Ringel already out
with a sprained left ankle, true freshman Becky Green got the start
and had nine kills.
But ironically, she sprained her right ankle in Game 3 and left
the match on crutches. Although her sprain is not as serious as
Ringel’s, Banachowski said Green would be unlikely to play in
tonight’s match against Oregon.
True freshman Katie Carter, who came in for Green and displayed
a powerful arm, notching four kills Thursday, will start.
Fellow freshman outside hitter Colby Lyman also had an
impressive match, recording 12 kills and 16 digs.
Karah Rhoades of Oregon State (9-5, 0-3 Pac-10) led all
attackers with 16 kills.