Instead of a dilemma, it’s been a blessing for
women’s volleyball coach Andy Banachowski.
Having three talented and capable women at hand for the second
outside hitter’s position has given Banachowski many
decisions to make as to who will be in the lineup, but they are
ones he welcomes eagerly. Playing time and naming specific starters
aren’t major issues for the coach, who prefers to utilize
whoever has the hot hand at the moment.
“I don’t really look at it as a tough decision (as
to who starts) because we’re going to try and work everybody
into the lineup,” Banachowski said. “And depending on
what the situations are, we’re able to utilize all the
players. I know everybody wants to be a starter, but everybody is
going to be a contributor on this team.”
The three athletes who now share playing time are sophomore
Kaitlin Sather, who started last year as a true freshman and was
named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team; sophomore transfer Ali
Daley, Big West Conference Freshman of the Year at Long Beach
State; and junior Becky Mehring, who, before redshirting the 2005
season, was an Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 selection in 2004.
When the 2006 season began, Sather, the returning starter, was
given the coveted position. Soon afterward, Banachowski worked
Daley into the Bruin lineup and was pleased with how the former
49er fit into the new system. Daley, in fact, became a vital piece
of the UCLA offense during the Hawaiian Airlines Classic in early
September.
With senior captain Katie Carter in a lock at the other outside
spot, Sather and Daley were in a battle over the remaining one.
And just as Bruin fans were contemplating Mehring’s
whereabouts, the former starter returned to the lineup Thursday to
revitalize the offense against the defending national champion
Washington Huskies. That night was Mehring’s first real test
of strength, although she had previously chipped in during several
pre-season matches.
“It feels good to be playing so much again,” said
Mehring, who took the 2005 season off to tend to her new baby boy.
“It’s a lot of work, but I’m still working at it.
It just goes day by day, practice by practice.”
After her solid outing Thursday, Mehring was given the start
against Washington State the following night.
“I thought she had a great performance against
Washington,” Banachowski said. “And I thought after
that performance, she deserved to have the start Friday.”
But as witnessed Friday, neither Mehring, Sather nor Daley
““ nor even Carter or opposite Colby Lyman ““ are immune
from regular substitutions. Mehring, Daley and Sather, who came in
at opposite occasionally for Lyman, shared pretty much equal
playing time Friday. All were integral in the victory over the
Cougars.
“We’ve got a lot of depth, so we’re going to
use all of our players to get our victories,” Banachowski
said.
The veteran coach will continue to utilize them in
interchangeable combinations, so long as each is performing to her
best capabilities.
REASON TO CELEBRATE: There’s no need to
worry about Nana Meriwether when she falls to the floor after a
resounding block. The senior middle blocker is merely having
fun.
“Last year and in the past years, I’ve been pretty
quiet, but I realized this year I needed to change my personality
in order to fire up my team,” Meriwether said.
She has responded by jumping into the air, ecstatically turning
toward her teammates, and unexpectedly sliding on her knees in a
Brandi Chastain-like move (sans the jersey-ripping) to celebrate
the “team effort.”
“I’m never on the floor, but my kneepads are so
dirty from celebrating,” Meriwether said.
RANKING UPDATE: UCLA remains in third, behind
No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Penn State, in the AVCA Coaches Poll,
which was released Monday. UCLA did, however, pick up six
first-place votes after defeating defending national champion
Washington.
Meanwhile, the Huskies ““ ranked No. 4 last week ““
fell to fifth after dropping a pair of matches to UCLA and USC this
weekend. USC swapped places with Washington and is currently ranked
fourth.