The UCLA women’s volleyball team is playing almost
flawlessly.
And they’ve chosen the perfect time to do so.
The No. 16 seed Bruins began NCAA Tournament play this past
weekend, and won their first two matches in dominant fashion.
UCLA (20-10) followed up a first round win over Kansas (15-15)
on Friday with a 3-0 sweep of San Diego (23-6) in the second round
on Saturday in Pauley Pavilion.
With the victories, the Bruins now move on to the NCAA Regional
Semifinal against No. 1 Nebraska in Omaha on Friday.
“I’m really thrilled to be able to move on to the
regional,” UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said. “We had a
good weekend of play and we’re looking forward to being able
to continue in the tournament.”
Against San Diego, which defeated Long Beach State to advance to
the second round, the Bruins played well in every aspect of the
game, cruising to a 30-24, 30-23, 30-19 victory.
UCLA beat San Diego
3-1 in its second match of the season, and although both teams
have improved since then, the rematch also saw the Bruins disposing
of the Toreros in quick fashion.
In Game 1, UCLA broke a 12-12 tie with a 8-1 run that secured
the game win.
The Bruins avoided the inconsistent play that has been common
this season, hitting .368 and holding the Toreros to a .114 hitting
percentage in a Game 2 win. San Diego kept the game close until the
end, but UCLA put together a 7-2 run to put them up 29-20.
Although San Diego stayed with the Bruins early in Game 3, UCLA
used a 13-4 run to quiet the Toreros for good and seal the match
win.
“UCLA played exceptionally,” San Diego coach
Jennifer Petrie said.
“They had every hitter and every defensive player running
pretty flawlessly, and they were extremely hard to contain. There
wasn’t one or two players to contain because they all played
very well.”
For the night, UCLA hit at a .412 clip, which eclipsed their
previous season high of .358, and was led by outstanding
performances by senior Nancy Barba and junior Nana Meriwether.
Barba hit a season-high .688 with 11 kills and no errors in her
last game at Pauley Pavilion.
“It was sad, but I’m too excited to go to Omaha to
cry,” Barba said. “I almost forgot it was my last game
in Pauley because I’m so excited about the rest of the
season.”
Meriwether led all players with 14 kills on an error-free 17
attempts. Her .824 hitting percentage is the eighth-best mark ever
at UCLA.
“Nana outdid herself from (Friday) night, where she had a
record, and Nancy was tremendous,” Banachowski said.
“Nancy seems three inches taller right now because
she’s jumping better and her arms are lively. The way she
played was a great way to end her career at Pauley.”
Also coming up big for UCLA was freshman Nellie Spicer, with a
career high six aces, and sophomore Rachell Johnson, who followed
up a 15 kill performance against Kansas with 10 kills against San
Diego.
“Rachell is continuing to astound us day after day with
how well she’s improving and how consistent she’s
becoming out there,” Banachowski said. “She’s
been a big part of our team maturing.”
Saturday’s dominating victory was set up by an impressive
30-14, 26-30, 30-17, 30-24 win over Kansas on Friday.
The Bruins established their superiority early in that match,
going on a 22-5 run in the Game 1 blowout. However, the Jayhawks
rebounded in Game 2 as the Bruins played inconsistently and hit
only .132.
UCLA regained their momentum with a 11-0 run to start Game 3,
and were never seriously threatened for the remainder of that game
or
Game 4.
“We were a little bit erratic and I was disappointed that
we lost the momentum in the second game, but it was a good
performance overall,” Banachowski said.
Against Kansas, Meriwether played exceptionally well, hitting 18
kills in 24 swings (.708). That mark is the third highest hitting
percentage in UCLA history with a minimum of 20 attempts, and the
best all-time in UCLA postseason play with at least 20 swings.
Any inconsistencies that the team had on Friday night were gone
by Saturday, as the Bruins were continually strong against the
Toreros.
“We prepared a lot better for tonight’s
match,” Meriwether said. “We really dissected their
offense and made assignments really fast. We were aggressive and it
was our mindset that we just came to win.”
On a night when highly ranked Pac-10 teams Stanford, USC, and
Cal were all defeated, UCLA was able to maintain their calm
demeanor and focus, and now travel to Omaha with aspirations of
upsetting top-seeded Nebraska in the third round of the NCAA
Tournament.
The Bruins will face the Cornhuskers on Friday at 5 p.m.