Rejection is tough to deal with.
In its match against Washington in late October, UCLA women’s volleyball faced more than it could handle: The Huskies sent back the Bruins’ attacks time and time again, to the tune of 30 block assists and 15 total team blocks.
“That’s what they are known for; they are known for being a blocking team. They spend a lot of time on it. They are very disciplined,” said UCLA coach Mike Sealy following his team’s 3-1 loss on Oct. 25.
Now, as UCLA (13-11, 4-10) prepares for its second go-around with No. 3 Washington (23-1, 13-1), it must cope with another form of rejection after being denied victory Sunday in its five-set loss to Oregon despite being just a point away from sweeping the Ducks.
If the Bruins hope to upset a Huskies team that hasn’t lost at Hec Edmundson Pavilion since November 21 of last year, they must quickly put behind them yet another blown opportunity. UCLA’s outside hitters will have to find a way to overcome a formidable Washington defense, but it will be just as important for the Bruins to play with a short memory.
“We’re definitely working on playing together, staying positive, not spending too much time on each point,” said senior middle blocker Mariana Aquino. “I think we have to not waste too much time when we’re down, and be less surprised when we lose sets. We have to constantly fight for every point.”
If there was anything close to a bright side in the aftermath of UCLA’s collapse against Oregon, it is that the Bruins are playing at a much higher level than they did in their first foray in Pac-12 play. After being outscored a combined 349-313 and dropping 11 of 15 sets in its first meetings with Stanford, California, Oregon and Oregon State, UCLA actually outscored those same four teams 370-357 and won eight of 17 sets in its second matches with them.
“We are there. We’ve grown a lot as a team and we are there with these good teams now,” said junior middle blocker Zoe Nightingale. “We’re going to go into Washington with the idea that we can beat these teams, whereas before it would be us thinking, ‘They’re really good.'”
Despite the improvement in the stat box, the Bruins have remained stagnant in the place that matters most – the win column. UCLA went 1-3 in both of its four-game stretches against the Oregon and Bay Area Pac-12 squads. However, despite ostensibly showing little growth, UCLA has been much more competitive in its recent matches and an upset isn’t as far out of the question as it would appear.
In their first game against the Huskies, the Bruins matched Washington point-for-point through the first three sets before succumbing to their seemingly trademark fourth set let-up.
If UCLA is to get what would be the signature win of the season, Sealy said that his team must play with a focus and energy that has consistently eluded them.
“We need to be as focused as we can be, win as many points as we can, for longer periods of time,” Sealy said. “I think we’ve been real close for a long time; it’s just getting over that hump. You don’t just get to win – you have to do something.”