When the season began, senior middle blocker Nancy Barba knew
she would be called upon to be a team leader. As the only senior on
the No. 16 UCLA women’s volleyball team, Barba has fulfilled
the role expected of her, providing veteran leadership for the
young Bruin team. “Nancy always leads the team by example and
has been a great role model as a leader of the team,”
freshman Kaitlin Sather said. “She is so passionate about
volleyball and is such a great teammate.” Barba is a fixture
on the court for the Bruins, and she encourages the team not only
with words but also with strong play. Her last season as a Bruin
has also been her best, as she is hitting 2.39 kills per game,
compared to her previous career average of 1.41 kills per game. In
her final regular-season home game last Saturday against Cal, Barba
notched 10 kills, seven digs and three block assists. “Nancy
has really taken the reins of being the captain and has shown a lot
of leadership in her interactions with all her teammates,”
coach Andy Banachowski said. “Nancy is having the best year
of her career and is making the plays at crunch time.” Barba
has also led the Bruins off the court, easing the transition of the
team’s seven freshmen into collegiate volleyball by helping
them wherever possible. “I think I’ve taken on a
motherly role,” Barba said. “I’ve just taken care
of the girls on the team. Since we did have so many freshmen, I had
to show them little things to help them out.” As UCLA begins
its postseason matches this weekend, the team is conscious that it
is Barba’s last postseason, and aims to win it for her.
“Nancy is such a great person and such a great teammate that
I think all of us will work extra hard to make her last season take
us as far as we can,” Sather said. “We really want to
win the rest of our games for Nancy.”
FRESHMAN REPORT: With seven freshmen on the
team, UCLA might be considered at a disadvantage because many
players have not been in an NCAA tournament before. However, the
Bruins view the situation differently. Freshmen Nellie Spicer,
Jordan Smith and Sather have started almost every match this season
and have gained experience the Bruins hope prepares them to compete
under postseason pressure. “The freshmen have been through a
season now, and they’ve got a lot of experience under their
belts that is not very typical of a freshman season,”
Banachowski said. More than just playing as substitutes, the
freshmen have had a major impact on the Bruins’ success this
season. “They’re not freshmen anymore because
they’ve matured so fast, and we needed that,” Barba
said. “They’ve stepped up tremendously, and it’s
really helped our team become more solid.”
AWARD SEASON: Now that the regular season is
over, several Bruins were honored this week by the Pac-10. Junior
middle blocker Nana Meriwether and freshman setter Spicer were
named to the Pac-10 All-Conference team. Meriwether leads the
Pac-10 with 1.77 total blocks per game, while Spicer was one of
only two freshmen to earn All-Pac-10 honors. Barba was recognized
for her contributions by being named an honorable mention
All-Pac-10 player. Spicer and Sather both made the Pac-10
All-Freshman team, and Smith was an honorable mention All-Freshman
selection.