There is no doubt that the defense has carried the UCLA women’s volleyball team this season. And it has also not been a surprise that its offense has been its Achilles’ heel.
It was the same story last weekend during UCLA’s trip to Oregon, as the defense stepped up against Oregon State and the offense failed to deliver against Oregon.
On the road, the No. 9 Bruins beat the Beavers (10-16, 3-11 Pac-10) 31-29, 22-30, 30-24, 30-18, but fell to the No. 20 Ducks (18-9, 7-8) the following night in straight sets 30-24, 30-28, 30-24. UCLA remains at .500 in conference play at 7-7, and 17-8 overall.
Ranked fourth in the Pac-10 with 2.97 blocks per game and first in the conference with 18.49 digs, the Bruin defense has been able to carry the team to the point it’s at today. However, UCLA is ranked eighth in hitting percentage, with a .185 average.
“Certainly defense is our strong point all season long,” coach Andy Banachowski said. “We were fortunate to have such a good blocking performance to go along with our floor performance. But that only takes us so far. We need to convert those digs into points.”
Last weekend, in the Bruins’ loss to USC, junior Jessica Fine replaced junior Jade Machado at libero, and Fine remained in the starting lineup against the Oregon schools.
She picked up 30 digs against the Beavers on Thursday, making her the first Bruin since 2005 to hit the 30 mark.
“(Jade) wasn’t playing badly (against USC), but she missed a few assignments,” Banachowski said. “I wanted to see if I could change things around a little bit. I was happy with the job Jessica did. She gave us a good spark and she’s continued to play well.”
The Bruins also outblocked Oregon State 20-8, led by freshman middle blocker Katie Mills’ 10 blocks and senior Rachell Johnson’s eight.
As for the offensive woes, Banachowski has been tweaking his lineup. He recently switched junior Kaitlin Sather to the left side and put junior Elise Carstensen in at opposite.
But as Carstensen struggled against the Beavers on Thursday, hitting just one of seven kills, Banachowski brought back in freshman Dicey McGraw.
McGraw hit .444 with four kills and earned herself a place in the starting lineup against Oregon on Friday.
And although McGraw’s hot hand carried over to Friday’s match, none of her teammates could come through with help.
McGraw put down nine kills for a .438 clip, while the other four hitters combined for a .118 percentage.
“I said to the team not everyone is going to play well every night,” Banachowski said. “Only one or two players are going to have a good night. Other players might not put up the same type of numbers.”
But what will the Bruins need to do to pick up the pace for the postseason?
“We just have to try to eliminate unforced errors and get better with passing to get in system more often,” Banachowski said.