Despite being overmatched on paper, the No. 8 UCLA women’s
volleyball team knew that Cal State Northridge would put up a
strong fight in its home gym.
The Bruins just didn’t expect it to be this close.
“It’s like they set a trap for us,” coach Andy
Banachowski said. “They know we were going to come in there
and expect to win, and they just played with a lot of
confidence.”
All-American candidate Jennifer Fopma pounded out 25 kills for
the Matadors, but it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset, as
UCLA held on for a 3-1 (30-28, 23-30, 32-30, 30-26) victory.
A poor passing game and lackluster effort hampered the Bruins
throughout the match. UCLA hit under .300 in every game but the
fourth, and the close scores in games one and three reflected the
Bruins’ poor hitting effort.
“We got very tentative in the first game,”
Banachowski said. “Northridge went on a run and we really
struggled to win game one.
“Then we had a weak second game. They served us tough and
we made a lot of passing errors.”
Perhaps taking the game for granted, UCLA did not register one
of its better matches against its Big West opponent.
Junior Heather Cullen, normally one of the team leaders in
kills, notched only eight on a paltry .069 hitting. At times
freshman Katie Carter was called to substitute in for Cullen.
“She struggled to put the ball away, I don’t think
she felt really good tonight,” Banachowski said. “Katie
came through with some good kills, some timely kills for
us.”
The Bruins were once again led by junior Brynn Murphy, who put
away 18 kills on even .300 hitting. She also led UCLA in blocks
with one solo and five assists. Senior Cira Wright had a standout
performance as well, with 14 kills (.323) and five block assists.
She might have even had better numbers, if the passing game had
been more efficient at placing the ball in good hitting
situations.
“Cira had a good night, but it was a quiet night,”
Banachowski said. “We had a tough time getting the ball to
her. We just didn’t pass the ball well at all.”
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On a more positive note, freshman Colby Lyman played in three
games, notching three kills and four digs. Lyman recovered more
quickly than expected from her pink-eye infection, as the coaching
staff was unsure on whether or not she would be available to play
Tuesday.