UCLA found itself at a loss of energy on Saturday night during its victory against California. Literally.
Beating the No. 9 Bears 25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, the No. 16 Bruins (12-5, 2-2 Pac-10) started off with unmatched intensity and took the first two games thanks to a high .292 hitting percentage and strong play from both senior opposite Kaitlin Sather and freshman outside hitter Bojana Todorovic. With momentum on UCLA’s side going into the third game, the match took an interesting turn.
In the middle of the third set, a momentary power outage on the UCLA campus forced the match to take a 15-minute time-out while the floor lights in Pauley Pavilion warmed up. By the time the court was fully re-lit, California (8-5, 1-2 Pac-10) held onto its lead to win the third set 22-25.
“You are always going to have distractions and you never know what is going to happen,” Todorovic said. “You just have to work on adjusting to whatever happens.”
The two teams went back and forth in the fourth and final game. Having a hard time stopping the hitting patterns of the Bears’ senior outside hitter Hana Cutura, who led all hitters with 17 kills, UCLA finally took the lead with the help of two consecutive kills from sophomore middle blocker Katie Camp.
“We just kept focusing on the next point, and that’s what really got us going,” Todorovic said. “We had an energized focus going.”
Todorovic posted the first double-double of her college career with 14 kills and 13 digs. Sather contributed an additional double-double with 13 kills and 16 digs. After missing last season due to injury, Sather played in her first home Pac-10 match since the 2007 season.
“It’s great to have Kaitlin back because having that experience is very rewarding,” coach Andy Banachowski said. “She has had some struggles with her shoulder, and it’s just really gratifying to see her make progress throughout the year, and she’s just getting stronger and stronger.”
The win against California came at a much needed time, as UCLA fell to No. 11 Stanford (9-4, 2-1 Pac-10) on Friday night in four games 20-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-20. The Bruins could not stop Stanford’s junior outside hitter Alix Klineman, who posted 23 kills and 10 digs.
After jumping out to a 6-1 lead in the first game, UCLA never trailed and led by as much as 10 points down the stretch at 23-13.
Near game point, the Cardinal did make a 7-1 run to build their momentum going into the second game, but the Bruins held onto their lead to take the first game.
After starting the match with much intensity and focus, the Bruins faltered in the next three games.
“We came out very excited and very loud. We won that first game, and then we kind of crashed after that,” Banachowski said.
After losing the second game, UCLA stayed even with the Cardinal for much of the third game. At game point for Stanford at 24-19, UCLA pushed for two more points with a diving save from sophomore libero Lainey Gera. However, Stanford was able to finish off game three and the remaining fourth game.
Breast Cancer Awareness
UCLA hosted its annual Breast Cancer Awareness Weekend. UCLA assistant head coach Kim Jagd, a breast cancer survivor, spoke at intermission during the California match urging women to regularly check for signs of breast cancer. The Bruins wore pink jerseys through the weekend’s matches. The custom-made jerseys are currently being auctioned off on UCLABruins.com to raise money for the UCLA/Revlon Breast Center.