If the UCLA women’s volleyball team is going to challenge
for the Pac-10 title this season, it’s going to need to
improve its hitting. The Bruins (8-3, 1-1 Pac-10) dropped their
Pac-10 opener against then-No. 3 Washington largely because of its
hitting miscues. UCLA registered 33 errors for a .198 hitting
percentage, well below the Huskies’ .298 effort. “We
felt really good going into the weekend,” coach Andy
Banachowski said. “But we made too many errors, and our
hitting percentage was not where we need it to be.” The
Bruins were outmatched from the start, losing the first game 30-18
with a .133 hitting percentage while committing 10 hitting errors.
“We were putting too much pressure on ourselves,”
Banachowski said. “We need to play a better ball-control game
and keep the ball in play.” Washington, on the other hand,
hit almost flawlessly from the start. The Huskies hit .412 in the
first game, and their top hitter, Sanja Tomasevic, torched the
Bruins for 27 kills and had the defense on their heels the entire
match. “She just played amazing, and we had no answer,”
outside hitter Becky Green said. One way UCLA hopes to cut back on
its errors is by not letting opposing blockers focus on a
particular hitter. Their balanced attack proved more effective
Saturday in a resounding victory against Washington State.
Sophomore outside hitter Colby Lyman, who has recovered well from
an ankle injury she sustained over the summer, has played a bigger
role in the offense recently. Lyman recorded six kills in 21
attempts, the second most kills on the team, in Saturday’s
victory over Washington State, but she only had a .093 hitting
percentage. “We’ve been trying to make a conscious
effort to spread out the sets,” Lyman said. “And I have
just been trying to take advantage of my chances.” “We
need to play smarter and cut back on our hitting errors. But there
is still plenty of time for improvement.”
GREEN RETURNS: Becky Green, who has been
struggling with a back injury for the past two weeks, was held out
of practice on Wednesday due to tightness in her lower back. Green
suffered the injury against Utah on Sept. 17 and sat out the next
match against BYU. She came back strong over the weekend against
the Washington schools. “It has been a struggle trying to
recover from the injury,” Green said. “But I’ve
been working myself back into the lineup.” Thus far, Green is
third on the team with 2.71 kills per game and has been a youthful
addition to the veterans Brittany Ringel and Brynn Murphy at the
outside hitter position. Green recorded 12 kills and 12 digs in her
last match against Washington State, both as team highs.
“Although she missed practice, she was able to rebound very
quickly from the injury,” Banachowski said. “We hope
her excellent play can continue.”
USC LOSES: The Bruins shouldn’t feel too
bad about the loss to the Huskies. In its following game on
Saturday, Washington ended USC’s 22 home-match winning streak
after winning a five-game thriller.