After an arduous stretch of four matches in eight days, a week off from games feels like summer vacation for the UCLA women’s volleyball team.
After claiming their third straight victory in Friday night’s win over Colorado, the No. 6 Bruins can afford to take a breath and put volleyball aside for a few days before building up their momentum for this Friday against Washington State.
It’s a timely rest for the team, who has not lost a set since falling at Stanford in a five-set thriller. Players are looking forward to a volleyball-free weekend after dispatching the Buffaloes.
“We’re going to relax and rest our minds,” said sophomore outside hitter Karsta Lowe. “Coach Sealy said “˜Don’t think about volleyball for the weekend,’ so that’s really nice.”
Coach Michael Sealy will be looking to take it easy on the team when the players return to practice during the week, especially following such a tightly packed part of the schedule.
“We’ll make sure we’re training smart next week, getting some rest and recovery,” Sealy said following the Colorado game.
Tough Luck D
The defense throughout Friday’s win was both impressive and opportunistic. The blocks were relentless, yet the most eye-opening play on defense may have been when senior outside hitter Tabi Love kept in a ball that bounced on top of the net before falling onto the Colorado side.
While the Bruins will take the points however they can get them, they rarely have to rely on those lucky situations.
“I feel like we’ve always been a really good defensive team,” said junior middle blocker Mariana Aquino. “We have a lot of confidence blocking and digging the ball, we get a lot of really good plays off of tips and rolls and things like that.”
Washington on the horizon
Next up for the Bruins are Washington State on Friday, and Washington on Sunday. A win will be expected against Washington State, while the clash with Washington is sure to be a thriller that could go either way.
The Bruins will be looking for revenge after a five-set loss to the Huskies at their first meeting.
“It’s always a good game against them,” Aquino said. “They beat us the last time we played so I’m really excited to play them again.”
Email Villalobos at lvillalobos@media.ucla.edu.