Fifth week at UCLA usually spells a plethora of overdue studying for midterms and scrambles to finish essays before deadlines.
It marks the halfway point of another quarter, as well as a marker for a reassuring success or, unfortunately, a disheartening reality check.
Yet, for the 18 members of the UCLA women’s volleyball team, this same week includes all that and more – a late season run to muscle its way to a strong Pac-12 finish.
On Thursday, the team will travel east to the University of Colorado to compete against another AVCA top 25 matchup, pitting the UCLA Bruins (16-7, 7-5 Pac-12) opposite a currently resurgent No. 21 Colorado Buffalo (15-9, 7-5 Pac-12) squad.
Departing Los Angeles on Wednesday and later arriving in Boulder, Colo., the Bruins will likely thrust themselves into a drastic change of elements, where temperatures in the mile-high state will hover just over 40 degrees at game time, and the air thins as the Bruins are elevated to nearly 5,000 feet above sea level.
“Logistically we know what we want to do, we were talking about some different substitution patterns we need to have,” said coach Michael Sealy.
Awaiting UCLA on Thursday evening is a newly inspired Colorado team that produced two of its best wins of the season days ago; knocking off two top-20 opponents in three days when they defeated then-No. 15 Arizona (18-6, 7-5 Pac-12) in four sets before ousting then-No. 19 Arizona State (16-8, 6-6 Pac-12) in five.
“Our mindset moving forward has to be the same thing, to get good practices in so we can play our own designed game and rebound from tough wins and losses like we had this weekend,” said senior outside hitter Karsta Lowe.
A thorn in the side of the Bruins this season arrives courtesy of the blocks they allow their opponents. With Lowe taking on much of the responsibility for the Bruin attack, the Buffaloes will undoubtedly look to expose this predictability.
Colorado, which currently ranks 49th in the nation in blocks per set, at just under 3, will undoubtedly look to trouble UCLA as it did in its previous meeting this season, where UCLA was out blocked 15 to 8 in a tough 1-3 loss in Malibu.
“Next point. We talk about it a lot and when things are bad, we just need to focus on the next point, and keep moving on, we don’t have time to dwell on the past,” said sophomore defensive specialist Taylor Formico.
Heading into Thursday’s matchup, the Bruins will look to halt a current streak of low hitting percentages. Held to just a .186 hitting percentage despite picking up a narrow victory over Washington State (10-14, 1-11 Pac-12) on Sunday, the Bruins can’t afford another poor hitting performance against a Buffalo squad that managed to secure a lofty .360 in its last meet up against the Bruins.
As the push toward earning a bid in the NCAA tournament tightens, UCLA must not let the altitude be the only thing that rises this Thursday, but hope that its performance does as well.