All the frustration the UCLA women’s volleyball team has
been feeling lately was abruptly put to a end this weekend. The
Bruins snapped a four-match losing streak by defeating Oregon 3-0
(30-15, 30-23, 30-24) on Friday and followed it up Saturday with a
3-0 (30-24, 30-6, 30-13) victory against Oregon State. The
victories were the team’s first Pac-10 wins this season.
“We took a big step forward this weekend in our confidence
level,” UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said. One of the crucial
elements the women’s volleyball team had been lacking going
into last weekend was a strong veteran presence. Against Oregon and
Oregon State, however, several players on the team attempted to
fill the void. All together, junior Katie Carter, junior Nana
Meriwether and senior Nancy Barba got 47 kills in both matches and
provided the type of leadership the team has sorely needed.
“It’s really important and it’s something
we’ve been kind of missing lately,” Barba said about
the team’s veteran leadership. “We’re getting
healthier, and it’s starting to come together for us.”
Getting junior Colby Lyman back from injury provided the Bruins
with a welcome leader. Although Lyman’s playing time was
limited for most of the weekend, her serving, digging and passing
proved valuable for a team that has been struggling in all three
departments. “Being able to have Colby back out there on the
court really helped everybody with their confidence,”
Banachowski said. “Having another veteran player out there,
especially one that is such a good ball control player, was really
beneficial.” Lyman, along with freshmen Nellie Spicer and
Kaitlin Sather, utilized her strong serves to control the flow of
the contest. After making just three aces with 11 service errors
against USC on Sept. 30, the Bruins’ 21/10 ace-to-error ratio
against Oregon and Oregon State was a welcomed change. Sather
tallied five aces against Oregon and Lyman had five aces against
Oregon State. “After having so many errors in the ‘SC
game, we spent 10 minutes every day in practice just on our
serve,” Lyman said. “It helps us a lot in setting up
points when we serve this way.” “We talked about
serving this week and I really got on them about how poorly we had
been serving in the Pac-10 and our ace-to-error ratio,”
Banachowski said. “They really listened and turned it around.
The team did a great job of focusing on one thing and getting it
done, and I’m really happy with them.”
EXTRA NOTES: In the second game of the
Bruins’ match against the Ducks, the men’s volleyball
team stormed the arena with warrior gear and a duck sticking on the
edge of a long stick. The support from their male counterparts was
a pleasant surprise for the team. … The women’s team stayed
after the Oregon State game to sign autographs for a group of youth
teams.