In addition to serving well in victories against Oregon and
Oregon State last weekend, one of the biggest areas of improvement
for the UCLA women’s volleyball team was their blocking.
After averaging less than two blocks a game in the match against
USC on Friday, the Bruins (9-5, 2-3 Pac-10) averaged four blocks a
game against the Oregon schools. “I thought (the team)
blocked very well this weekend,” coach Andy Banachowski said
after the team beat Oregon State. “We were able to get our
block set up because we served tough, which gave them fewer options
to work with.” In addition to junior middle blocker Nana
Meriwether, who increased her conference-leading blocking totals to
1.78 blocks per game with a strong performance over the weekend,
junior middle blocker Katie Carter was able to make the most of her
playing time and bolster the Bruins’ blocking totals. Carter
had two solo blocks and five block assists against the Ducks and
Beavers. She was particularly pleased with her ability to take
advantage of her starts this weekend. “It’s something
I’ve been kind of waiting to do for a while,” Carter
said. “After a lot of frustration and dealing with injury, I
felt like I blossomed (last weekend).” “It’s good
to see Katie come back to the lineup and contribute,”
Banachowski said. “The thing that she has been doing
extremely well for us is blocking, and we need that blocking and
hitting from her position. She’s certainly a player
that’s capable of doing that.” Despite the
Bruins’ improved effort, Banachowski has still made blocking
a focus at practice this week as the team prepares to take on the
No. 2-ranked Washington Huskies (14-0). “Washington has got a
very strong offensive attack,” Banachowski said. “So
we’re really trying to improve our blocking to try to slow
them down.”
STUDY HABITS: The Bruins’ trip this week will be their
first road trip since the school year began. Consequently, the many
freshmen on the team are going to be missing class for the first
time and are going through an unfamiliar process. “We get
papers from our academic counselors saying the days we’re
going to be gone and give them to our teachers the first
day,” freshman defensive specialist Blair Socci said.
“We just remind them, e-mail them, and try to get our work
done ahead of time.” “It will be new for this group
with so many new players,” Banachowski said. “Their
luggage will be a little heavier this time. We’ll designate
some time on the road for them to study and try to keep up.”
Learning how to mix school with a rigorous athletic schedule is
something every freshman athlete has to go through, women’s
volleyball included. “The first week, it was really, really
hard,” Socci said. “It was hard to figure out when to
eat and get enough sleep, but it’s gotten better lately. You
just have to learn how to manage your time.”
With reports from Michael Wozny, Bruin Sports
reporter.