Be it the pair of black boxes that encase John Wooden and his loyal Bruin bear or the animosity between the two crosstown schools, there is no other week quite like rivalry week.
In the midst of this late November affair characterized by elevated school spirit and an unwavering ridicule for “that other school in L.A.,” the UCLA women’s volleyball team instead has its sights set on a completely different set of opponents – a pair of schools that don’t even reside in the same state, let alone the same city.
Oregon, rather, is what is on the Bruins’ radar, and that is exactly where they are heading this weekend, tasked with back-to-back evening match-ups against almost equally competitive Pac-12 conference foes.
On Friday awaits a No. 14 Oregon (19-7, 9-7 Pac-12) team against which No. 17 UCLA (18-9, 9-7 Pac-12) will attempt to sweep the season series before quickly traveling the hour north to Corvallis, Ore. to square off against Oregon State (17-10, 7-9 Pac-12) the next night, where it hopes for a similar result.
With the women’s volleyball regular season winding down to a close and only four conference games remaining to escape the logjam that is the Pac-12 women’s volleyball standings, this weekend’s matches spell an opportunity for UCLA to separate itself from the pack and vie for, at best, a third-place finish in the conference when all is said and done.
In a conference where nine of the 12 total teams currently occupy a spot in the AVCA top 25 rankings, the UCLA Bruins, between Oregon and Oregon State teams in terms of both ranking and record, need every win they can muster.
UCLA’s first serve in Oregon will be to a well-balanced Ducks attack group that sees four players average more than two kills per set along with a team total of 14.4 kills per set, ranking slightly below that of UCLA’s nation-leading 15.14 kills per game.
In the two teams’ previous meeting in October, the Bruins managed to produce an offensive showcase with senior outside hitter Karsta Lowe compiling a career high 33 kills while freshman outside hitter Reily Buechler managed a double-double of 13 kills and 13 digs.
UCLA’s previous offensive explosion against Oregon this season bodes well for the Bruins this weekend, when UCLA will test its national highs in both kills (15.14) and assists (14.23) per set against a less-than-stellar Oregon defense that averages only 2.06 blocks per set and allows opponents to hit an average of .194 per game, good for 160th and 131st in Division I respectively.
Following a quicker-than-usual turnaround, UCLA will return to the court less than 24 hours after it leaves Oregon for a matchup against the Oregon State Beavers, who currently sit just outside the AVCA top 25, a few votes shy of entering the poll.
In what, historically, has largely been a one-sided affair in the Bruins’ favor, a match against an overlooked Beavers squad could pose a tougher challenge than the Bruins anticipate.
In the two teams’ previous meeting this fall, UCLA just managed to sneak a five-set victory away from Oregon State, largely thanks to a foursome of Bruins with double-digit kills.
Oregon State, a team who currently manages 2.56 blocks per set, could present itself as a thorn in UCLA’s side, as the Beavers will have the potential to disrupt the usually smooth succession of kills for UCLA, and with it, disrupt the Bruins’ chance at moving up the competitive Pac-12 leaderboard.
Compiled by Erik Kaye, Bruin Sports contributor.