W. VOLLEYBALL Today, 7 p.m. v. USC Pauley
Pavilion
With each match that the UCLA women’s volleyball team has
played over the past couple of weeks, the stakes have been raised.
It’s only fitting that the climax of that run happens at home
against the Bruins’ bitter rival. When No. 6 UCLA (25-3, 12-3
Pac-10) takes on No. 4 USC (23-3, 12-3) tonight in Pauley Pavilion,
a lot more than pride will be on the line. “It’s for a
higher spot in the Pac-10 standings, certainly,” coach Andy
Banachowski said. “That’s also going to play an
important part in the (NCAA Tournament) seeding when that comes
out.” After the Trojans swept Stanford in the Bay Area last
week and the Bruins fell to the Cardinal the next day, USC
leapfrogged UCLA in the rankings. The Trojans stunned the Cardinal,
who swept USC at the Galen Center just a month earlier.
“They’re coming off a big weekend, especially with the
Stanford win,” senior middle blocker Nana Meriwether said.
“They’ve really developed their offense.” The
last time the Bruins faced the Trojans, on Oct. 20 in the Lyon
Center, UCLA’s quick attacking offense and strong defense was
too much for USC. The Bruins defeated the Trojans 3-1 (25-30,
30-20, 30-24, 30-22), snapping an 11-match losing streak that
extended back to the year 2000, long before any of the current
Bruins were on the team. The Bruins will be looking for a repeat
performance at home tonight. Banachowski is confident about the
matchup. “In the end, our speed and quickness was able to
overcome the power game that they played (in the last
match),” Banachowski said. “That’s the contest
and the strategy that’s going on out there and we’re
going to work to see that we prevail again.” While the Bruins
have accomplished the goal of beating USC this season already, they
still have not recorded a home victory against the Trojans since
2000. Each year, the veteran Bruin players have had to suffer the
pain of defeat in front of their biggest crowd of the year and
watch the fans silently exit the arena. That’s something that
doesn’t sit well with the Bruins, particularly not with the
seniors on the team. “We always have a huge crowd, it’s
always a great game ““ they push, push, push and we always let
the crowd down,” senior outside hitter Katie Carter said.
“This year, it would make that experience so much better just
to have everyone rush the court kind of like we did at ‘SC,
but with more people on our side.” After playing the Trojans,
the Bruins have three more home matches before the postseason
starts, against Pepperdine, Oregon and Oregon State. A win tonight
would not only put the Bruins in a better position heading into
postseason, but it would mark the completion of a dream for the
Bruins to sweep the Trojans. “It would just be kind of a
relief,” Carter said. “I could say that while I was at
UCLA, we took over USC when it counted the most.”
BRUINS SIGN THREE: UCLA announced three
signings for the 2007 season on Wednesday. Joining the Bruins next
year will be 5-foot-10-inch outside hitter Dicey McGraw (Santa
Margarita HS), 6-foot-3-inch middle blocker Katie Mills (Grandview
HS, Aurora, Colo.) and 6-foot-1-inch setter Stephanie Nucci
(Gilbert HS, Gilbert, Ariz.). “We have brought in another
solid class of student-athletes,” Banachowski said.
“They will fill our needs created by our departing senior
class.”