Five out of the last six years, the UCLA women’s
volleyball team has advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
And in all those years, the Bruins have fallen short of their
ultimate goal of reaching the Final Four.
Then what, if anything, makes this year’s team confident
as it prepares to play second-seeded Penn State on Friday in the
third round of the NCAA Tournament?
“It’s our seniors,” said coach Andy
Banachowski of his 15th-seeded Bruins. “They’ve been in
this position before, and I think they are ready to forget the
past. … They realize the success of the team falls on their
shoulders.”
A pair of wins this weekend would not only rectify the past
losses of the team in the NCAA Tournament, but would also help
people forget about a disappointing regular season this year in
which UCLA (20-10) began the season ranked No. 3 in the nation and
needed a late-season surge to earn a top-16 seed.
The senior class of Krystal McFarland, Chrissie Zartman, Heather
Cullen, Brittany Ringel and Brynn Murphy have a chance to
distinguish themselves from their predecessors, being the first
UCLA team to advance to the Final Four since 1994.
It would be particularly special for Zartman, UCLA’s
libero, who has secured numerous postseason awards but has never
played in a Final Four.
“All the seniors deserve it,” Banachowski said.
“Its just a matter of whether they’re ready to take
it.”
The Bruins were in a similar position last season when they
faced top-ranked and undefeated USC in the regional final. The
Bruins were up 1-0 and leading 24-23 in the second game, but an
injury turned the game to favor USC.
Sophomore Colby Lyman went down with an ankle injury and the
momentum swayed toward the Trojans; the Bruins lost 3-1. At the
time, the Bruins said they would be back and have one extra year to
accomplish their goal.
For this core group of seniors, however, this tournament will be
their last hurrah and their last chance to prove that last
year’s loss was just the beginning of things to come.
“I think it’s just a matter of maturity,”
senior Brittany Ringel said when asked about the difference between
this year and last year’s team. “We’ve been in
this position and know what to expect.”
The last time the Bruins traveled to Seattle, they faced No. 3
Washington last month before 3,414 fans and were overwhelmed by the
atmosphere, losing the match 3-1.
“I almost feel like the last match was like a
warm-up,” Ringel said. “I think we’ll ready to
play this time around.”
“It’s definitely an advantage,” middle blocker
Nana Meriwether said. “We’ll be more used to our
surroundings than the other teams.”
The trip may end up helping the Bruins, but if the team wants to
have a different outcome from last time, they’ll have to play
one of their best matches of the season.
The Penn State Nittany Lions have lost only three total games in
their past 10 matches and have defeated No. 4 Minnesota and No. 5
Ohio State in that time span.
The Lions are led by freshman Kate Price and senior Ashley
Pederson, who are averaging 3.94 and 3.86 kills per game on the
season, respectively.
“They have a pair of really strong attackers,”
Banachowski said. “Both play well behind the setters, and
they present a different approach then we have seen this
season.”
On the Bruins’ side of the ball, UCLA will need the
similar production out of their top two hitters, sophomore Becky
Green and senior Brynn Murphy, as they received this past weekend.
Murphy had a match-high 19 kills in Friday’s match against
LMU, while Green had a team-high 15 kills on Saturday against Long
Beach State.
“I really want Brynn and Becky to continue their
production,” Banachowksi said. “At the same time,
though, I want to see the rest of the players step up.”
If there was any time for the team to step up, it would be now,
where several teams have failed before.
A berth in the Final Four is there for the taking. All UCLA has
to do is grab it.