Now you see them, now you don’t.
That seems to be the theme of the UCLA women’s volleyball
team this season, as the once-ranked No. 3 team in the country goes
from dominating one night to dominated the next.
This inconsistency became all too apparent in the Bruins’
matches this past weekend, when they swept Arizona State 30-21,
30-12, 30-27 Friday night, only to get swept by Arizona 30-28,
30-21, 30-28 Saturday night.
Against the No. 24 Wildcats (13-6, 5-6 Pac-10), UCLA (14-7, 7-4)
showed very few signs of a team that had cruised to an easy victory
just 24 hours earlier.
“Arizona played really well and we just didn’t play
the way we needed to in order to beat them,” senior libero
Chrissie Zartman said.
The No. 12 Bruins stumbled out of the blocks, falling behind the
Wildcats 11-2 in the first game. Despite the early deficit, the
team rallied behind Becky Green’s seven kills and four digs
to get within one point at 29-28. However, they would get no
closer.
The Wildcats wouldn’t allow the Bruins to get any closer
in the second game, using a six-point run and Meghan
Cumpston’s eight kills to take the game in an even easier
fashion.
UCLA appeared to be in good shape to prolong the match in the
third game, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. However, the Wildcats were
finally able to tie the score at 16-16. From there, both teams
exchanged points back-and-forth, but with Arizona leading 29-28,
UCLA’s setter Krystal McFarland’s kill attempt was
blocked by two Wildcats to cap off the match.
The symptoms of UCLA’s inconsistency have been similar
throughout the season. Injuries have forced McFarland and outside
hitter Heather Cullen to miss time and now have derailed outside
hitter Colby Lyman. The sophomore, who had contributed to the
Bruins win over the Sun Devils on Friday, was forced to leave the
Arizona match early with an arm injury.
“I’m frustrated with all these injuries that are
really contributing to our inconsistency,” coach Andy
Banachowski said. “We have not been able to be consistent in
anything we’ve been doing.”
With Lyman in the lineup against the Sun Devils (9-10, 4-6), the
Bruins had a relatively easy time, despite playing without the
services of outside hitter Brittany Ringel. They quickly went up
5-0 in the first game and their defense stifled the Sun Devils into
hitting a mediocre .189.
In game two, UCLA’s offense ran wild as they pulled off 13
kills on 22 attacks, while limiting Arizona State to 11 kills and
eight errors on 35 attacks and a .086 hitting percentage.
Arizona State regrouped in game three, at one point taking a
commanding six-point lead. But mistakes plagued the Sun Devils all
evening, as their nine service errors paved the way for UCLA to go
on a 17-8 run to close out the match.
The run appeared to give UCLA some much needed momentum and
confidence, but not enough to carry over onto Saturday.
“So much of our success has come from the players relying
on one another, and people that they’re used to having out
there next to them aren’t there,” Banachowski said.
“We’re putting up a different lineup all of a
sudden.”
Having no control over injuries and the adverse effect they have
on the team, all Banachowski can do is hope for healthier days
ahead.
“Hopefully we’ll get a couple of people healthy
again,” Banachowski said. “Hopefully we’ll get a
day or two of rest because that would help a lot.”