W. volleyball prevails over U of A, ASU
By Lawrence Ma
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
No women’s volleyball team in the country plays louder than
Arizona, and Saturday night, the 16th-ranked Wildcats brought their
emotional brand of volleyball to Westwood to take on No. 3
UCLA.
UCLA has not had it easy against the Wildcats, who have taken
the Bruins to five games in the last three meetings. On Saturday,
the ‘Cats played at their emotional peak and began the match by
blowing out UCLA for a 1-0 lead.
But in the end, UCLA’s combination of finesse and power muzzled
the Wildcats, as the Bruins prevailed, 6-15, 15-4, 15-9, 15-8.
With the exception of the first game, UCLA passed the ball
efficiently, served tough and dug a few bullets against Arizona
(9-7 overall, 5-6 in the Pac-10). The power game was supplied by
outside hitter Annett Buckner (18 kills) and middle blocker Alyson
Randick, who ate up the quick sets for 13 kills and a .550 hitting
night. She also blocked a match-high nine balls.
"We gave them a lot of points in the first game," UCLA head
coach Andy Banachowski said. "And then we just had better ball
control and that’s how you beat this team."
The Bruins (20-2, 10-1) played well, but they may also have
gotten some help from the officials as two questionable calls in
the pivotal third game turned the match in UCLA’s favor.
With the match tied at 1-1 and the third game tied at 7-7,
Arizona lost a close call and a point on a UCLA block on Wildcat
hitter Barb Bell. Arizona coach David Rubio received a yellow card
when he booted the scorer’s table after losing the argument.
Then, with UCLA leading 13-9 in the same game, Arizona was
called for four hits when the first Wildcat to touch the ball was
attempting a block. The Bruins had game point, much to the dismay
of Rubio, who again litigated the call. After Rubio threw his
jacket to the ground, the Bruins were awarded another point and a
2-1 lead in the match, and Rubio came way with a red card.
Those errors may have shifted the momentum toward UCLA, as the
Bruins took a 12-3 lead in the fourth game and never looked back.
Arizona instigated a short-lived run to close the Bruin lead to
13-8, but an ace by UCLA setter Kelly Flannigan got the Bruins to
match point and on the second try, Randick tapped down an overpass
to win it for UCLA.
* * *
On Friday night, UCLA defeated No. 14 Arizona State, 15-8,
15-9,15-9. Annett Buckner led the Bruins with 14 kills and Alyson
Randick added 11 from the middle. Middle blocker Kim Krull had 9
kills and six blocks.