The season so far for the UCLA women’s volleyball team has been a constant struggle to get better, honing the talents of a large freshman class in the pursuit of a return to the top of the conference.
Coming off a weekend facing teams in the bottom of the Pac-10, the No. 9 Bruins (18-8, 8-7) have a tough visit to No. 7 California (20-5, 10-4) Friday and No. 2 Stanford (22-3, 13-1) on Saturday.
The Bruins fell to both teams earlier in the season at Pauley Pavilion, but coach Andy Banachowski maintains that the team has made improvements since late October.
“Our freshmen have gotten a lot more experience and have continued to improve,” Banachowski said. “We have become more cohesive, more aggressive, and … I like our chances this weekend.”
When the Bruins last faced the Bears and the Cardinal, both Bay Area teams were vying for Pac-10 supremacy. Since then, the Bears have fallen to third in the Pac-10 standings, having dropped matches against Washington, Arizona and Stanford.
Stanford, on the other hand, has risen rapidly to be a near shoo-in as Pac-10 champion by winning their last seven matches, including five straight sweeps.
In their first match against Cal, the Bruins fell in a five-set heartbreak, losing the fifth set 13-15. The Bears were notably aided by a career night from senior outside hitter Am’ra Solomon.
Against Stanford, the Bruins came out swinging despite the exhausting Cal match. The Bruins fatigue seemed to set in most as they fell in four sets.
However, those results are not standing in the Bruins’ way to prepare for this weekend.
“We’re focused and ready and know what we want to do and need to do,” sophomore outside hitter Dicey McGraw said. “We’re pumped.”
The Bruins, however, have only defeated teams currently ranked lower than them in the Pac-10. Their best win this season came against then-No. 12 Hawaii at the Hawaii Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic on Aug. 31.
Despite not obtaining a notable victory, freshman middle blocker Katie Camp agrees the team improved since facing the Bears and Cardinal four weeks ago.
“When we played we were apprehensive because the level is so different from high school and club,” Camp said. “Now that we (the freshman) have played and are almost done with the season, we have gotten more confident in our abilities.”
Camp comes into the match, along with freshman middle blocker Amanda Gil, as part of the Pac-10’s top blocking corps. While Gil is second in the Pac-10 with 1.41 blocks per set and has the seventh best hitting percentage at .328, Camp hits an even better .350, sixth in the conference, and is ninth in blocks with 1.04 per set.
“We have really started to see how we can contribute to the team when we play well,” Camp said.
The improved play of the freshmen will likely take some of the pressure off the Bruin outside hitters, McGraw and senior Ali Daley, who have been shouldering much of the hitting load this season.
Banachowski added that, though winning is the team’s goal this weekend, he is most looking for improvement from his team nearing the end of the season.
“We are not competing right now for the conference championship; we recognize that fact,” Banachowski said. “What we really want to focus on is making sure that we continue to play hard and improve ourselves.”
Considering the quality of these opponents on a national level, a win against either Stanford or Cal this weekend will be integral if the Bruins wish to craft a deep NCAA Tournament run.
“Going out there right before the playoffs and proving ourselves will definitely give us the confidence we need to reach the Final Four,” McGraw said.
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