Another weekend, another sweep.
No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo (7-0) earned two more top-25 wins this weekend at the Cal Cup, winning 13-8 over No. 13 UC Davis (2-3) and 14-9 against No. 17 Fresno State (2-6).
The Bruins’ first game of the weekend against the Aggies saw seven different Bruins score. Junior attacker Maddie Musselman led all scorers with 5 goals, tying a career high.
Sophomore goalie Jahmea Bent subbed in for the second half against UC Davis, registering four saves and two penalty stops. She said UCLA’s growth in playing as one unit instead of as seven individuals helped the team continue their win streak.
“One of the big improvements has to be communication,” Bent said. “Especially with calling people back and helping on defense. Confidence, as well, like who we’re up against and how far we’ve come from preseason to now has been huge.”
In their final game of the weekend against the Bulldogs, the Bruins were down 3-2 halfway through the second quarter before scoring five straight goals to take a 7-3 halftime lead.
Freshman attacker Val Ayala scored five times over the two games. She said adjusting to the college game has been tough physically, but she feels she has adapted well.
“It’s definitely a lot more physical,” Ayala said. “A lot of the girls are a lot bigger and stronger. As far as the game goes, it moves a lot faster. But I think the transition hasn’t been too bad.”
UCLA also played two exhibition games against No. 2 Stanford (3-0) and No. 4 California (3-0). While the games did not count toward the teams’ records, it gave the Bruins an opportunity to compare themselves to their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation rivals.
Coach Adam Wright said his team benefited from the exhibitions, both in letting the team’s depth get some game action and allowing his team to experience tough situations and how to deal with them.
“We got a lot of experience,” Wright said. “Everybody played. For us, the big thing was to see how we react and our decision-making. Overall, can we get better? Yes, a lot better. But there was definitely some progress.”
UCLA has played seven straight games against ranked opponents. The Bruins have won their games by an average of 4.4 goals, but their margins of victory have ranged from two goals to nine goals.
Wright said his team’s goal is to play the same way every time out and continue to improve in the finer aspects.
“(We want) consistency from quarter to quarter, possession to possession,” Wright said. “It’s the small details we keep harping on, whether it be our passing or our defensive body positioning. That’s going to be critical that we keep growing in those areas.”