Halfway through an up-and down-season, the UCLA women’s volleyball team is looking for some consistency.
The Bruins have had some big wins so far, but have only managed to win back-to-back matches once since the start of Pac-10 play.
At times, the Bruins have looked strong, like in their five-set victory over No. 2 Stanford, but have struggled inexplicably on other occasions.
Coming off one such confusing loss to Arizona State, the No. 11 Bruins (13-5, 3-4 Pac-10) will look to rebound as they host Oregon State (8-13, 1-6) tonight and No. 16 Oregon (16-3, 4-3) on Saturday.
“I think that, honestly, we are the team that’s going to be contesting for winning the Pac-10,” junior libero Lainey Gera said. “I mean, yeah, we’ve had some dumb losses, but we’ve also shown that we can beat the best teams, and I think that within the next couple of weeks, we’ll kind of figure things out and put the pieces together.”
The Bruins should not have much of a problem handling the Beavers tonight. Oregon State enters the matchup with the second-worst record in the Pac-10 and is ninth in the conference in kills and hitting percentage. The Bruins should have plenty of scoring opportunities, as the Beavers are ranked eighth in the Pac-10 in opponent hitting percentage.
One advantage the Beavers might have in the match is their team chemistry. Because of an injury, UCLA’s junior setter Lauren Van Orden was forced to miss last weekend’s matches against the Arizona schools, throwing off any rhythm the Bruin offense had going.
“We need to get back on track offensively and get back into our system. … We’ve got to make sure that our offense becomes as machine-like as possible,” coach Mike Sealy said. “It definitely takes a couple of days to get back in sync, but that’s expected.”
Van Orden will be back in tonight’s lineup for the first time since Oct. 9.
Oregon will pose a much bigger threat to the Bruins’ hopes of a winning streak. The Ducks are coming off of a three-set sweep against Oregon State and run a style of play that is similar to the Bruin offense.
“Both teams try to run a pretty fast offense,” Sealy said. “I think (both teams’) hitters are better at hitting around blocks and being more cagey and trying to be overpowering at the top.”
The Bruins have recently been displaying a gritty style of play. They are holding Pac-10 teams to a .209 hitting percentage and lead the conference in digs with 16.11 per set.
While the defense has always been there, the offense is just starting to come around.
The emergence of sophomore opposite Rachael Kidder has come as a welcome surprise for the Bruins. Helping to take some of the scoring burden off of her outside-hitting teammates, Kidder has averaged 15 or more kills in the last four matches.
With Van Orden back and the emergence of a diverse offense, the weekend homestand could provide this up-and-down UCLA team with a little stability.
“(Last home game against Stanford), the vibe of the crowd was a huge factor for us,” junior middle blocker Katie Camp said. “Playing at home gives you that extra energy.”