Sometimes the challenge of beating the second-best team in the
nation is too much to ask of a young team.
Such was the case Thursday night, when the UCLA women’s
volleyball team put up a strong effort but failed to overcome
Washington’s superior experience and talent.
Losing in straight sets, 24-30, 18-30, 22-30, the Bruins (9-6,
2-4 Pac-10) were unable to stop the Huskies’ powerful
offensive attack or get into an offensive rhythm of their own.
“Certainly at this point in the season they are a better
team than we are,” UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said.
“They’ve got so much experience and time together that
we’re just not able to compete with them. Their team right
now is where we want to be later in the season, and I certainly
think that’s possible.”
While Washington returned all but one of its starters from their
NCAA Semifinalist team from last season, the Bruins are relying
heavily on the seven freshmen on their roster.
The Huskies (15-0, 6-0) boast some of the best players in the
nation, including Sanja Tomasevic, who is the current Sports
Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week, and Courtney Thompson,
who paces the country in set assists per game.
Against UCLA, Tomasevic racked up 14 kills while Thompson
tallied 41 assists.
Facing four All-Americans and a team that leads the nation in
hitting percentage, the Bruins would have had to play a perfect
game to bring home the win. UCLA was able to keep pace with the
Huskies through six points in Game 1, but a 6-0 Washington run gave
the Huskies momentum they never relinquished.
“Washington served very tough, and we passed
poorly,” Banachowski said.
“We weren’t ever able to get into any type of
offense. We were definitely overmatched in terms of hitting, and we
were just ineffective in what we were trying to do.”
With five of the top-10 hitters in the Pac-10, Washington was
able to score at will, hitting .305 for the night.
The Bruins failed to muster any response, as UCLA’s leader
in kills, freshman Kaitlin Sather, only managed three kills with
five errors in 19 attempts. Hitting .082 in the match, the
Bruins’ attack was stifled by a team that leads the
conference in limiting their opponents’ hitting
percentage.
While most of the team was ineffective, one Bruin was able to
put points on the board for UCLA, as junior Nana Meriwether tallied
10 kills in only 20 attempts.
“Nana was very effective with her attack,”
Banachowski said. “We became a pretty one-dimensional team
because she was the only player able to get it done out there.
“Our entire outside hitting really broke down, and the
only bright spot was in the middle.”
Although the Bruins lost, the team learned some valuable lessons
from their match against the Huskies.
“We need to spend more time working on our passing and the
level of consistency that we play with,” Banachowski said.
“I thought we would be able to execute on our side of the net
a lot more consistently, but it’s tough when playing a top
opponent.”
Hoping to rebound from their loss to Washington, UCLA will take
on Washington State today in Pullman.
“We’re going to snap back and play with a lot more
consistency against Washington State,” Banachowski said.
“I expect that we’re going to come out with a
vengeance.”