For the No. 9 UCLA women’s volleyball team, this season has been frustrating to say the least.
Playing in the toughest conference in the country, the Bruins (18-10) have been hard-pressed to find a quality win since their nine-game winning streak against nonconference opponents back in September.
Going into tonight’s home match against No. 24 Pepperdine (20-6), UCLA hopes to get back to the kind of dominating play it exhibited at the beginning of the season.
Despite their record, the Bruins have earned enough sets against top teams to keep them high in the rankings, and that is one of the main reasons they have maintained their spot in the national top 10 since the preseason, despite having a losing record in the conference.
Last weekend was a prime example, as UCLA battled two of the nation’s premier squads ““ No. 2 Stanford and No. 7 California ““ at their home courts and fell only after pushing each match to five sets. Even with any improvement the young Bruin team might have shown, the weekend still ended up as two L’s.
“I think everyone was just really frustrated because we were so close both times,” freshman libero Lainey Gera said. “We’ve been so close to so many teams, fifth game, 15-13, like probably four or five times now. We’re still just trying to get over the hump, but it’s like we’re stuck, so everyone is just like, “˜When are we going to get over that point where we win the fifth game?'”
The Bruins have tried to stay confident despite victories escaping them time after time. Their efforts have been visible in the results.
In all nine of its conference losses, UCLA has yet to be swept. Six of the losses were decided in a 15-point final set.
“I think knowing that we’re the underdog in all of these situations puts a lot of fire under us,” Gera said. “I think the fire is us trying to get past everyone’s expectations of us losing those games.”
The Bruins have just two games left on their schedule, tonight’s match and Friday’s match against USC.
In less than a week, the regular season will be over for UCLA, and its fate will be put in the hands of the NCAA Tournament selection committee.
The Bruins would like to portray themselves as a good team in a great conference, and a win against Pepperdine tonight would help show that.
Looking past the Waves, however, would be a mistake.
Pepperdine boasts the most digs and the best hitting percentage in the West Coast Conference, which is also good for 15th in the nation.
They are led by 6-foot-3-inch senior outside hitter and two-time All-WCC first-team selection Julie Rubenstein. Rubenstein is first in the conference in kills with 4.39 per set.
She is paced by freshman outside hitter Kim Hill, who ranks second in the WCC in blocks, and freshman libero Stevi Robinson, who tops the league in digs.
As this is the last game on Pepperdine’s schedule, it is also the last chance the Waves have to boost their resume for a fourth straight tournament appearance.
“We’re just trying not to underestimate them,” Gera said. “We know that they’re pretty good and you can’t take any team for granted. … Anyone in the top 25 at least.”
Follow the Daily Bruin on twitter for breaking news alerts.