They may not be hitting the books quite yet, but the members of
the women’s volleyball team have already gotten the ball
rolling on their season. On Saturday and Sunday, just over a month
before classes begin in Westwood, the Bruins commenced the 2006
season with a three-match tournament in the State Farm Bearcats
Invitational 2,200 miles away in Cincinnati.
The weekend was a grueling test of endurance as the Bruins took
on three opponents in two days. But No. 10 UCLA (3-0) emerged
victorious over unranked teams Tennessee Tech, Western Michigan and
University of Cincinnati. The University of Maine also competed in
the five-team tournament, but did not meet with the Bruins.
“We won all three of our matches and (beginning the season
on a strong start) is certainly exactly what we wanted to
do,” UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said.
Against Tennessee Tech on Saturday, redshirt junior Rachell
Johnson led the Bruins to a 30-18, 30-18, 30-20 victory. The
outside hitter/middle blocker slammed down 14 kills for a
phenomenal .722 hitting percentage. Later that day, UCLA handed a
loss to Western Michigan, sweeping the Broncos 30-27, 30-22, 30-23.
The next day, the Bruins battled home team Cincinnati, dropping the
second set, but in the end cranked out a 30-24, 23-31, 30-27, 30-21
win.
“Western Michigan had a fast offense from antenna to
antenna,” Banachowski said. “It was hard to defend
against the fast tempo. Cincinnati pushed us to four games. They
were more of a power team, straight come at you with quick attacks
in the middle. It was a good test and good preparation for
us.”
Sophomore Kaitlin Sather led the way for the Bruins this
weekend, registering double digit kills in each of the victories.
The outside hitter chipped in 12 against Tennessee Tech, 10 in the
Western Michigan match, and 16 against Cincinnati. Senior Katie
Carter added 12 kills against Tennessee Tech as well, and led the
Bruins with 17 on Sunday.
But perhaps the stars of the weekend were Johnson and Nana
Meriwether, who were both named to the all-tournament team.
“Both of our middles certainly had strong showings and
played very well all weekend,” Banachowski said.
In the search for a replacement for departed senior middle
blocker Nancy Barba, UCLA may have found it in Johnson. Johnson saw
some time in the middle last season, but now she may be there full
time. Meghan Schoen began the tournament as the middle hitter, but
over the course of the weekend Johnson won the spot.
Throughout the weekend, Banachowski used the opportunity to
tinker with his lineup, rotating Laura Kroneberger, Jade Machado
and Jordan Smith in and out of the libero’s jersey.
Kroneberger was the starter in each of the three matches.
“We got to get in some experience playing, play a lot of
players and try to answer some questions on who would be in what
positions and start sorting it out,” Banachowski said.
But after this weekend’s play, the starting libero spot is
still up for grabs, although Smith, last season’s starter, is
the frontrunner.
“That’s a continuing battle at that position,”
Banachowski said. “The two players that shared most of the
time were Laura and Jordan. Jordan had a stronger showing this
weekend, so she is the leading contender right now.”
Transfer Ali Daley also saw some court time, as the coaches
evaluate her play as a Bruin. Last season’s Big West Freshman
of the Year chipped in eight kills at a .368 clip against Western
Michigan. But against Tennessee Tech and Cincinnati she wavered at
a .182 and -.050 average, respectively.
“She had a good first outing as a UCLA Bruin,”
Banachoski said. “She showed that she could be able to get
kills on the outside. I was really pleased. It’s something
we’re going to be able to build on.”
The Bruins stood up to this weekend’s test, but next week
they will face stronger foes, including No. 5 Florida and No. 7
Hawai’i.