W. VOLLEYBALL 7 p.m. v. Wash. State Pullman,
Wash.
The last time the UCLA women’s volleyball team faced
Washington State, the Bruins did not play up to their
capabilities.
As the Bruins head to Pullman to take on the Cougars tonight,
they know that in order to win this time, they will have to play
much better than they did last time.
The No. 4 Bruins (21-1, 8-1 Pac-10) did defeat the Cougars
(14-9, 2-7) when the teams met in Pauley Pavilion on Sept. 29, by a
score of 3-1 (30-17, 24-30, 30-21, 30-26).
But UCLA, coming off an emotional five-game victory against
Washington the previous night, was not satisfied with its
performance against a team the members felt they should have
swept.
With an infamously tough Cougar crowd to deal with this time
around, the Bruins are looking to step up their performance
tonight.
“It’s a lot tougher to play on their home court;
they’ve got a great environment to play in,” coach Andy
Banachowski said. “If they get their crowd behind them,
we’re going to have our hands full. But if we concentrate and
are ready to play, we should be able to control the tempo of the
match and certainly win.”
The trip to Pullman was not exactly ideal for the Bruins. The
team left for the airport at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and did not arrive
in Pullman until midnight. The team members will wake up for a
pre-game practice today at 11 a.m.
If the Bruins are not already completely awake by the time the
game starts at 7 p.m., the Washington State fans should finish the
job.
“The crowd has probably some of the best hecklers that
I’ve ever experienced in my college career,” redshirt
junior middle blocker Rachell Johnson said. “It’s a
really great volleyball gym ““ it’s a loud place to
play, and it’s really fun and exciting to come in there and
make a big statement.”
UCLA is coming off one of its more emotional victories in recent
memory. The Bruins defeated USC for the first time in six years
with a 3-1 (25-30, 30-20, 30-24, 30-22) victory last Friday.
Washington State, meanwhile, has been struggling as of late.
After starting the year off 12-1, the Cougars have lost eight of
their last 10 matches. But they have picked it up a bit in their
last three matches, defeating Arizona and losing close matches to
Arizona State and Washington. The loss to Washington gave the
Huskies their 25th straight win at home, a streak they will put on
the line against USC Thursday, and possibly UCLA on Friday.
The Bruins have quite a streak of their own this season. They
are 18-0 away from Pauley Pavilion this year; last season they were
12-8 away.
“Our team chemistry in general has been great,”
sophomore setter Nellie Spicer said. “We all love each other
and that helps so much on road trips because you’re
constantly together in the hotel rooms, eating together. I think
that’s a huge part of how we play on the court together on
road trips.”