After two impressive wins last week over ranked opponents, the UCLA women’s volleyball team finds itself back with an 0-0 record at the start of the NCAA Tournament.
“It certainly is a new beginning for us,” coach Andy Banachowski said. “I think that our two wins last weekend against Pepperdine and especially against USC give us momentum going into the tournament.”
This season marks the 27th time UCLA has been a part of the NCAA Tournament. For each of the past five years, the Bruins have made it past the first and second rounds into the regional round.
After receiving a No. 14 seed in the tournament, the Bruins (20-10, 9-9 Pac-10) will host the first and second rounds Friday and Saturday at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins hold an all-time record of 37-4 when playing NCAA Tournament matches at home.
UCLA will get the chance to see competition from three different conferences as it makes a run toward the Final Four. LSU from the Southeastern Conference, Duke from the Atlantic Coast Conference and University of San Francisco from the West Coast Conference will make the trip to Los Angeles. LSU and Duke both finished at the top of the respective conferences, while USF was the runner-up in the WCC.
“No matter what conference it is, you have to be good to finish first,” Banachowski said.
While UCLA finished tied for fifth in the Pac-10 Conference, the Bruins are not intimidated by the other teams’ high finishes in league play.
“The Pac-10 is by far the toughest conference there is, so that doesn’t mean anything to us,” senior libero Jessica Fine said.
The Bruins will face LSU (18-9, 13-7 SEC) on Friday night in the first round. UCLA and LSU did not face any common opponents during the regular season, but UCLA holds a 6-0 all-time advantage over LSU.
LSU runs a balanced offense, which is led by two skilled hitters. Senior outside hitter Kyna Washington averages 2.98 kills per set and junior middle blocker Brittnee Cooper is not far behind, averaging 2.90 kills per set.
One of the Tigers’ strengths from the back row comes in the form of their senior libero Elena Martinez, who was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
“From what I can see, they are a strong attacking team, athletic and a good blocking team,” Banachowski said.
Before UCLA plays LSU, Duke and USF will face off at 5:30 p.m. The winner of that match will then face the winner of the LSU-UCLA match on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The winning team of the second-round game will continue on to the regional round in Austin, Texas next week.
“With the tournament, there is no chance to look back,” Fine said. “You leave it all on the court no matter who is on the other side of the net. We are going to go out and play our hearts out for every match.”