Home is where the heart is – or so the saying goes – and for the members of the UCLA women’s volleyball team, their heart lies on the hardwood of UCLA’s athletic facilities.
When a century-old pipe burst on famed Sunset Boulevard just yards from UCLA, and just weeks away from the start of their 2014 campaign, the Bruins prepared for the worst.
Word quickly spread that the team’s domain, famed Pauley Pavilion and the John Wooden Center, were completely waterlogged and the courts that had for so long hosted the women’s volleyball team were trashed.
It would be a while, possibly an entire season, where the team would have to take its talents elsewhere in the Los Angeles area to play its “home” games. Firestone Fieldhouse on the campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu and the Crossroads School in Santa Monica sheltered UCLA in just as foreign an atmosphere as their opposition felt.
Nearly hour-long bus rides in the Los Angeles traffic led to an arena where a large, orange “P” surrounded by a tidal wave adorned the court’s center floor and any remnant of a home court advantage came from the limited number of fans who could make the same journey themselves.
Those home-away-from-home games, however, are now simply a thing of the past.
“Oh my gosh, we are so excited to be playing at home again,” said sophomore middle blocker Claire Felix. “Even though it was a great opportunity to be the underdog at our ‘home’ games, I cannot wait to play on campus again.”
Coincidently, or possibly not, this week spells homecoming for the UCLA campus and none will be a truer homecoming than that of the Bruins women’s volleyball team.
“We’re just really excited that hopefully we can get some fans to cheer for us, possibly some funny heckling,” said senior outside hitter Karsta Lowe. “Being on our home turf, it will be good for us to hear those loud and happy fans.”
In UCLA’s five quasi “home” games, the team survived the journeys and managed a 3-2 overall record in both Malibu and Santa Monica, only dropping a match to then-No. 18 Arizona and Colorado.
“It was tough battling the logistics of getting on a bus and driving 45 minutes away to a game that’s supposed to be your ‘home’ game, but it will be great to hopefully get some cheering home fans at our games,” said coach Michael Sealy.
UCLA’s (15-6, 6-4 Pac-12) first true home game this season won’t be an easy one as the team welcomes newly ranked No. 2 Washington (21-0, 9-0 Pac-12) and tries to avenge a disappointing five set loss handed to UCLA three weeks ago.
In the midst of a season where the team has come frustratingly close to nabbing a victory against a top five opponent, UCLA will be presented with yet another chance, this time in the comfortingly loud confines of Collins Court in the John Wooden Center.
“Seeing the court gives me the chills,” Felix said. “Knowing that you’re playing at home with all your family and friends watching you and knowing that you get to represent your community is going to be amazing.”