W. Volleyball
Today, 7 p.m. v. Arizona Tuscon, Ariz.
What a difference a year makes.
Last season, a young UCLA volleyball team struggled away from
home going 12-8, while losing to some very beatable teams.
This season, the No. 3 Bruins (17-0, 4-0 Pac-10) are 15-0 away
from home. That’s a trend they hope to continue as they head
to Arizona to face the Arizona Wildcats (9-6, 0-3) today and the
Arizona State Sun Devils (9-5, 1-2) on Saturday.
“We want to establish ourselves,” coach Andy
Banachowski said. “We’ve done well on the road this
year, so that should stand well for us.”
While UCLA has traditionally dominated Arizona, recent history
has not been so kind to the Bruins. UCLA has dropped three
consecutive matches to the Wildcats and was swept by Arizona last
year.
But this year, both teams have gone in different directions.
UCLA has improved immensely, while the Wildcats, who lost last
year’s star senior hitters Kim Glass and Jennifer Abernathy,
have struggled.
Before going on its current four-game losing streak, Arizona won
nine of its first 11 matches, including losses to Pac-10 foes
Arizona State, Stanford and UC Berkeley.
“If we serve and pass, we’ll be able to do well
against Arizona,” Banachowski said. “They really do
have a new look to them. We’ll just have to adjust to them as
we play through the match.”
Arizona State, on the other hand, has shown a lot of
improvement. The Sun Devils, who have not finished above fifth
place in the Pac-10 since 1995, have already won more matches this
season than they did all of last season.
The Sun Devils finished the season 8-20 last year and went just
3-15 in conference play.
This year’s Arizona State team knocked off in-state rival
Arizona before falling to Stanford at Cal the following week.
“They’re a team that’s matured sort of like we
have,” Banachowski said. “They’re a year older
and playing very good volleyball right now. If we can be in our
offense and stay in tempo, I think we’re bigger than them.
Our size will help us a lot.”
“Arizona State is a lot better than they have been in the
past,” senior outside hitter Katie Carter said.
“It’s kind of flipped around: U of A is not the team
that’s as good, but Arizona State is a little bit better.
Either way, we’ll be playing good teams.”
And although the Bruins have already beaten teams that are
better than Arizona and Arizona State, UCLA knows there is still an
undefeated record and a reputation at stake.
The Bruins aren’t taking either team lightly.
“This weekend is a lot of pressure,” Carter said.
“We haven’t really heard a lot about either team. It
will be a test for us.”