The UCLA women’s volleyball team started the season 7-0 – its best start in a decade.
The 2006 team went on to win its next 13 games, but this year’s team has gone a mediocre 3-2 since the end of its early hot streak.
“Our last three practices have been really tough,” said senior middle blocker Jennie Frager. “The coaches have pushed us really hard just to make sure we cleaned up every little thing that was off during that match (against Washington State) and did everything that we needed to do to prepare for this weekend.”
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No. 12 UCLA (10-2, 1-1 Pac-12) travels to play at No. 25 Utah (11-2, 2-0) on Friday and No. 20 Colorado (9-3, 1-1) on Sunday, where the team will have to contend with high elevation and two top-25 teams.
After an error-ridden five-set loss to the No. 17 Cougars last Friday, the emphasis in practice this week was on handling out-of-system balls.
“We’ve done a lot of really competitive, fast-paced drills to cause a lot of chaos in practice to get them used to playing those long, crazy rallies,” said coach Michael Sealy.
Friday’s match was only UCLA’s second with its new 6-2 rotation, so the Bruins have also been focusing on ironing out the kinks in their rotation. For example, senior outside hitter Jordan Anderson had not consistently played in the back row throughout her UCLA career until last week.
“We have some plays out of the back row that we are probably going to see more, and we are more under control and comfortable playing next to each other,” Anderson said.
In practice, the Bruins have been emphasizing a more diverse attack. Both Anderson and junior outside hitter Reily Buechler have been running “bics” – a back row set with greater pace than the standard “pipe” – in practice this week, Anderson said.
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Utah, Friday’s opponent, snuck its way into the rankings after wins over unranked teams Arizona State and Colorado, gaining its first 2-0 start in conference play since joining the Pac-12. Outside hitter Adora Anae recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 22 kills and 12 digs against the Sun Devils.
Sealy said that although Anae is one of the best outside hitters in the country, the Utes still have a balanced attack on all sides that the Bruins will have to be prepared for.
Colorado, Sunday’s opponent, most recently picked up a victory over Arizona in a five-set thriller. Junior outside hitter Gabby Simpson hit .486 to lead the Buffs with 22 kills in that match.