Though the all-time series in women’s volleyball has been
an entirely one-sided affair ““ with UCLA leading Oregon 37-1
overall ““ the 39th meeting between these two teams on Friday
did have some tense moments.
Despite the fact that the No. 8 Bruins (10-2, 2-1 Pac-10) once
again swept the Ducks (3-9, 0-3) in three games (30-20, 30-21,
36-34), the third game provided the match’s most interesting
moments.
In game one, UCLA hit a whopping .405 compared to Oregon’s
.167. Senior Natalie Ray served during a decisive 4-0 run, putting
UCLA up 20-11. The Ducks never seriously challenged UCLA after this
scoring streak.
The second game, on the other hand, started a downward trend for
the Bruins. They hit a respectable .286, while the Ducks improved
slightly to .171. Oregon attained its first lead of the match early
on, but with the score at 13-12, the match’s longest rally
ensued. Junior Brynn Murphy won the point for UCLA with a
thunderous kill that seemed to drain the fight out of Oregon. The
Ducks didn’t put up much of a fight for the remainder of the
game, and faltered late to give the Bruins a relatively easy
game.
In the third game, however, UCLA nearly fell apart. They hit
only .179, one of its worst single-game totals of the season.
Oregon continued to improve, and hit .232. The crowd was stunned as
they watched Oregon reel off four straight points to begin the game
and then continue to maintain a slim lead.
“We just lost our concentration. They found a nice rhythm
and started beating our block to death,” head coach Andy
Banachowski said.
Yet with the score very tight, and with their best chance to
take a game off of a ranked opponent, the Ducks let their emotions
get the best of them.
At 12-10, junior Heather Cullen’s block attempt against
Oregon’s outside hitter Sarah Mason sailed wide. Obviously
excited, Mason then had some choice words for Cullen, whose back
was turned at the time. This incident seemed to wake up the Bruins,
and the crowd began to get back into the game. Junior Krystal
McFarland pounded a kill on the next point and then served a laser
beam for an ace, bringing the Bruins within two points.
“Everybody has each other’s back on this
team,” Murphy said. “We got fired up over that.
That’s what lost them the game.”
Cullen, for her part, was quite surprised.
“I couldn’t believe it. It was so stupid.
That’s not good sportsmanship at all and that’s not
what we’re about,” she said. “I guess we
can’t all be classy.”
The Ducks still had a golden opportunity to take the game, with
a 29-27 lead on serve. But Oregon served into the net, and the
battle for the game was on. The two teams battled back and forth
until back-to-back kills by Cullen and senior Cira Wright finally
gave UCLA the game and the sweep, 36-34, much to the delight of the
688 fans in attendance.
“It’s great clutch experience to have,”
Banachowski said. “We did a real good job to finish it off in
three.”
The Bruins were led with three players in double-figure kills,
including Murphy, who continued her stellar early-season play in
with 15 kills on .462 hitting. Cullen also had 15 kills to go along
with seven digs. Wright had 14 kills and three aces, as well as two
blocks. Freshman Katie Carter, starting in place of an injured
Becky Green, played well in spurts but ultimately struggled,
especially in the third game. Carter, the 6-foot-3-inch middle
blocker served well, but did not hit well against Oregon’s
defense, notching only two kills compared to five errors on 19
attempts. After watching a live ball drop in front of her, thinking
the point was dead, she was replaced by sophomore Teryn Spragg.
Still, her talent was evident and her teammates and coach believe
she can get the job done.
“She’s doing her best out there. She needs to
execute better on one-on-one situations, but that will come with
experience,” Murphy said. “She’s got a lot of
talent.”
“She’s going to be an outstanding volleyball player
for us,” Banachowski said.