While it may seem derogatory, the race for second place in the
Pac-10 has officially begun.
The No. 8 UCLA women’s volleyball team is currently tied
with No. 9 Stanford for third in the conference, trailing No. 6
California by just one game. No. 1 USC still has not lost a match
in its last 32 contests, and is the clear favorite to win the
conference.
The rest of the picture is not so clear. With so many ranked
teams battling for position, the conference is extremely top-heavy.
Whomever emerges in the top two positions will likely be rewarded
by the NCAA with high seeds in the postseason tournament. UCLA can
take a big step towards accomplishing that goal with two victories
when it hosts Washington State Friday and No. 10 Washington
Saturday in Pauley Pavilion.
Both the Cougars and the Huskies have already proven they can
play evenly with the Bruins. Both previous contests went five
games, with UCLA ultimately prevailing. A loss to either team would
be a step back from the pack and maintaining the home court
advantage will be critical for the Bruins.
“We’re hoping that the home court advantage will
give us a break,” coach Andy Banachowski said.
“We’ll be a little more consistent and rested being at
home. Hopefully we can show off in front of our fans how well we
can play.”
Washington (15-5, 6-5) is somewhat one-dimensional, led by
junior outside hitter Sanja Tomasevic’s 5.45 kills per game.
As the third leading killer in the Pac-10, Tomasevic dominates the
ball and receives the most attempts.
Washington State (7-15, 3-8) is slightly more balanced, with
senior Zanda Bautre pacing the Cougars with 3.40 kills per game,
while redshirt-freshman Kristen Carlson is right behind with 3.14.
In spite of their poor record, Washington State recently took
Stanford to five games at Pullman, and is no doubt looking to
finally upset a ranked team.
If UCLA is going to avoid a loss, they’ll have to improve
their passing game, something that Banachowski has been emphasizing
this week after a poor performance against Northridge Tuesday.
“We devoted our entire practice on Wednesday to working on
our passing and digging,” he said. “We’ll settle
down and pass better than we did.”
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The Bruins are also hoping that they won’t have to deal
with any further health issues. Now that freshman Colby Lyman and
junior Brittany Ringel are rounding back into form, a few new
injuries have emerged. Junior Heather Cullen is experiencing
problems with her knee, and freshman Becky Green has complained of
flu-like symptoms. Still, the team is relatively healthy
overall.
“We’re still in good shape, I think,”
Banachowski said.