OMAHA, Nebraska – It was unlike anything anybody in the college
volleyball world had ever seen.
Before an NCAA-record 17,013 screaming fans at the Omaha Qwest
Center, No. 1 Nebraska and No. 4 UCLA engaged in a battle of
willpower in the national semifinals with neither team letting up
until the final kill.
But in the end, the Nebraska team and fans, controversial calls
at pivotal moments and some key Bruin errors proved to be just too
much for UCLA to overcome as the Bruins fell 3-1 (30-23, 28-30,
23-30, 28-30).
The loss left the Bruins in despair and left UCLA still
searching for that ever-elusive 100th national title.
"We definitely wanted to go all the way," senior outside hitter
Katie Carter said. "The thing that makes us so upset is that we
know we could have played a lot better."
Another factor playing against the Bruins was their inexperience
being in front of big crowds. Pauley Pavilion, which typically
plays host to a few hundred fans for volleyball games, drew less
than 900 fans in each of UCLA’s NCAA regional matches against UAB
and Utah.
But UCLA, who lost to Nebraska at the Qwest Center in last
year’s tournament and had just come off a dominating performance
against Hawai’i on their home court, did not seem phased at the
beginning of the match.
The Bruins dominated the first game on Thursday and jumped off
to a quick 5-1 lead in Game 2.
But the Cornhuskers tightened up and rallied behind their fans
and the rest of Game 2 was neck and neck until the end. With the
Bruins down 29-28, sophomore setter Nellie Spicer was called for a
controversial ball-handling error, and the Bruins lost Game 2 on
what was the first of many calls that had a normally calm UCLA
coach Andy Banachowski barking at the referees all night long.
"Part of the game is overcoming adversity," coach Andy
Banachowski said. "Whether it’s a call or a hot streak by the
opponent, you just have to weather the storm."
The Game 2 loss proved to be a critical turning point in the
match. The Cornhuskers used a 10-0 run to handily win Game 3 and
seemed to have the match in hand with a 15-9 lead at the end of
Game 4.
But the Bruins battled back to tie the game at 22, and after a
mini-push by Nebraska, fought off a match point to cut Nebraska’s
lead to 29-28.
But after Nebraska’s Jordan Larson’s powerful hit smacked to the
floor for a kill, the Bruins were quickly left to face the fact
that their season was over.
"It’s just a shock," said Carter, who had a tough end to her
UCLA career with a team-high nine errors to just seven kills.
"That’s all it is right now. A shock."
The loss marks the end of the successful careers of Carter,
senior middle blocker Nana Meriwether and senior Colby Lyman, who
played through a plethora of injuries and was forced to a defensive
role at the ends of both her junior and senior seasons – a role in
which she succeeded.
All three players, particularly Meriwether, who will find out
Friday night if she is the National Player of the Year, are going
to be very tough to replace.
Both Carter and Meriwether broke down and cried at the postgame
press conference as they reflected on their Bruin careers and a
2006 season that saw the Bruins reach the Final Four for the first
time in 12 seasons.
"This is the same team that I’ve been playing with for two years
now. … We’re all super close," Meriwether said, fighting back
tears. "These past few years, we’ve gone through so much. The
coaches, they’ve been through so much, and they’ve inspired us to
do great things. That’s why we made it so far. I’m just going to
miss playing with the girls – I’m not going to really miss this
sport."
The Bruins still return a core of solid players led by junior
outside hitter Ali Daley, first-team All-American Nellie Spicer and
sophomore outside hitter Kaitlin Sather, who came into her own as
the season wound down.
"The seniors have really been an inspiration to all of us,"
Sather said. "For (Nellie and I), we have two more years to take
care of our unfinished business."
But it was hard for the Bruins to think about the future after
their painful loss at the Qwest Center.
"We can�t do anything without these girls,"
Spicer said about the three departing seniors. "We
can�t do anything without them, so we’re just
going to have to start off once we get back from winter break."
STILL GOING STRONG: In his 40th year as coach
of the UCLA women’s volleyball team, Andy Banachowski
hasn�t let up at all. On Wednesday, he was named
the Tachikara/AVCA Division I National Coach of the Year for
leading the Bruins to the Final Four.
The award was Banachowski’s second such honor – he also received
the award in the 1989 season.
Banachowski, who became the first NCAA Division I coach to hit
the 1,000-win mark last season, doesn�t see an end
to his coaching career anywhere in the near future.
"The real inspiration for me to continue on are these girls
right here – the players that I have that I work with every day in
the gym," Banachowski said. "I enjoy coaching every single day. I
plan to be around for awhile."
QUICK HITS: Nebraska is 37-3 against ranked
opponents since the start of the 2004 season. … Meriwether and
Spicer were named AVCA first-team All-Americans while Carter earned
third-team honors. … Stanford dominated Washington in the
nightcap, winning 3-0 (30-12, 30-25, 30-15). The Cardinal will face
Nebraska for the national title Saturday.