The beauty of the NCAA tournament lies in its simplicity. A win
keeps a team alive, a loss ends it. The UCLA women’s
volleyball team has been waiting for a big win all season, and the
first-round match today against Long Beach State may be its last
chance.
Throughout the year, the Bruins have been tantalizingly close to
upsetting a higher ranked team, but haven’t been able to win
those crucial points that lead to victories. The team feels
confident, however, that it has progressed far enough to finally
get its biggest win of the season.
“It’s a maturation process,” head coach Andy
Banachowski said. “I think we’ve come along far enough
to finally knock off someone ranked higher than us.”
This year’s team is not the traditional powerhouse that
UCLA usually produces. However, the team has shown a great deal of
mental toughness in staying close to teams like USC and Stanford.
But, its inconsistent play late in games has doomed its upset
efforts. The Bruins know that if they are going to win in the
tournament, they must continue to get over their late-game
woes.
“We have the potential, we’ve had it all
season,” senior Lauren Fendrick said. “This is the time
to bring it.”
It seems only fitting that the Bruins will face Long Beach
State, the very same team that knocked UCLA out of the tournament
last year. With a chance to play in the Final Four, the 49ers beat
the Bruins 4-1 to remain undefeated. In fact, the only game that
Long Beach State lost last year was a 3-0 decision to Stanford in
the NCAA championship game.
Although Long Beach lost seniors Tayyiba Haneef and Cheryl
Weaver to graduation, it remains an extremely potent team led by
national player of the year candidate Brittany Hochevar. As if
there wasn’t enough motivation already, revenge is firmly in
some of the Bruins’ minds.
“We had a great chance last year and they ruined it.
It’s a different team, but it’s still Long Beach
State,” sophomore Brynn Murphy said.
Fendrick, the only current member of the team that played
significant minutes in last year’s tournament run, recalls
last year’s loss most acutely.
“Revenge is definitely a factor,” she said.
Realistically, neither Long Beach State or UCLA has a chance at
a national title this year. Banachowski, for his part, thinks an
all Pac-10 final is likely, with defending champion Stanford
matched up against No. 1 seed USC.
“Stanford’s primed to repeat. It could be a great
finals match between Stanford and USC.”
Still, even though the Bruins know their championship hopes are
slim, the team maintains a confident attitude.
“We’re going to play hard, and play with
heart,” sophomore Krystal McFarland said. “It
doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we can’t psych
ourselves out.”