One night after getting swept by a strong Washington Husky team,
the UCLA women’s volleyball team rebounded with a dominating
sweep of its own. The Bruins defeated the Washington State Cougars
(8-12, 1-6) at Pullman on Friday night 3-0 (30-20, 30-21, 30-19).
The victory improved the Bruins’ record to 10-6 for the
season and 3-4 in Pac-10 play. “We are starting to build
trust in our lineup and we’re executing with a lot more
confidence,” UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said. “It was
good for us to come back with a victory tonight.” After
starting the season 7-1, UCLA fell to Wisconsin and went on to lose
its next three matches. The Bruins were determined not to let their
loss to the No. 2-ranked Huskies cause a similar tailspin.
“Washington is a very strong team and you will always have
your hands full going up against them,” Banachowski said.
“It was very important for us to rebound tonight and restore
some confidence in our lineup.” UCLA hit .357 as a team while
limiting Washington State to just a .084 hitting percentage. The
Bruins also had 46 digs to Washington State’s 36, and
freshman setter Nellie Spicer’s 46 assists were 17 more than
the entire Washington State team had. From an individual
standpoint, it was a trio of veterans who played key parts in the
Bruins victory. Senior middle blocker Nancy Barba had 11 kills and
hit .500 while junior middle blocker Nana Meriwether hit .550 and
contributed 14 kills. Junior hitter Katie Carter also was able to
factor in, hitting .375 and finishing the night with 11 kills.
“Barba and Meriwether were both outstanding tonight and Katie
had a breakout night for us,” Banachowski said. According to
Banachowski, one of the reasons UCLA finished the game with such a
high hitting percentage was the team’s ability to set up
points with strong serves and passes. “Our serving was very
strong and helped us get into our offense, and our passing helped
to set up our middles,” he said. The road will not get any
easier for UCLA as the Bruins return home this weekend. This Friday
at 7 p.m., UCLA faces No. 12 Arizona (14-2, 6-1), who upset No. 3
Stanford on Friday and swept No. 13 California on Saturday, in what
is sure to be a challenging match for the Bruins. UCLA will wrap up
its weekend against a struggling Arizona State team (6-11, 1-6)
Saturday at 7 p.m. “Arizona is a strong attacking team and we
must serve and block well to slow down their attack,”
Banachowski said. “It will be good to face them at home in
Pauley, and it’s a lot easier coming back with a
split.”
EXTRA NOTES: The Bruins .357 hitting percentage was UCLA’s
second-best team effort so far this season. The Bruins hit .358
against Oregon State on Oct. 7 … With the victory, UCLA ran its
all-time record against Washington State to 32-7. The win was
Banachowski’s 994th career victory … In its last seven
meetings with the Arizona Wildcats, UCLA is 1-6, and the Bruins
have only won six out of the 25 games that have been played during
those seven matches.