With its postseason seeding on the line, the UCLA women’s volleyball team wanted more than anything to sweep its final two conference matches of the 2007 season this past weekend.
But it was the down-and-out Arizona Wildcats who, with a 4-13 record in the Pac-10 and have no chance at clinching a berth in the NCAA Tournament, left their hearts out on the court Saturday at their senior night.
“Maybe (the Wildcats) were a little bit looser and more relaxed,” coach Andy Banachowski said. “Their starting middle blocker (senior Dominique Lamb) led them with 20 kills and hit .359 and had 6 blocks. She certainly had a senior night to remember.”
It wasn’t exactly the way the Bruins wanted to end the regular season.
In the conclusion of the No. 10 Bruins’ Pac-10 season, UCLA split their two road games against the Arizona schools Friday and Saturday. On Friday, the Bruins picked up their 20th win of the season by defeating Arizona State 30-25, 30-25, 24-30, 30-19. But on Saturday, they fell to the Wildcats in four sets, taking the first, but dropping the final three to lose 30-26, 26-30, 21-30, 29-31.
In a continuation of its struggles at the net, UCLA failed to deliver against the Wildcats in both hitting and blocking. The Bruins were out-blocked 13-6 on the night, the six of which came in the first two games. They were also out-hit .264-.209, hitting a low in the third set with a .100 hitting percentage.
And going into the NCAA Tournament next week, UCLA will have to make sure not to have a repeat of this match.
“We have to do better with our attacking,” Banachowski said. “It’s something we’ll continue to refine and find out ways to get better so we can do well in the postseason, whether we’ve got to change some players around, which I’m hesitant to do at this time, or find a way to isolate our hitters better than we are right now.”
But they must refine, and refine fast, for the first round of NCAA play begins this Thursday. In addition to improving on their own game, the Bruins also hope not to run into a school with a style of play similar to Arizona’s.
“(The Wildcats) are a big hitting and blocking team,” Banachowski said. “That’s the type of team that’s given us trouble all season long. That’s been our downfall throughout the year.”
On Friday night however, the Bruins had a much better turnout against the Sun Devils. Their blocking was on point, beating out Arizona State at the net with a 13-7.5 edge. UCLA also had five players record double-doubles, led by junior Kaitlin Sather’s 18 kills and 18 digs.
“(Friday) was a better performance,” Banachowski said. “I think that the tempo and style we got into was the way that we play. We hit and blocked so much better. Kaitlin had a really good performance at Arizona State.”
NCAA TOURNAMENT: The Bruins earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will face Alabama A&M (15-9) in the first round on Friday at Clemson University. If UCLA wins, the Bruins will face the winner of the Clemson-Alabama match on Saturday.