In a season of highs and lows, this weekend will, if nothing
else, keep with the theme.
The UCLA women’s volleyball team concludes its up-and-down
regular season this weekend as they go on the road to take on lowly
Washington State Friday night, followed by a match against
powerhouse Washington Saturday night.
The match against the No. 3 Huskies (23-1, 15-1 Pac-10) will
provide a big test for No. 16 UCLA (17-9, 13-3) as Washington has
proven to be nearly unstoppable this season.
The Bruins hope to show that they are a different team than the
one that suffered a sweep at the hands of the Huskies earlier this
season. The timing for an upset appears to be as good as any, as
Washington is reeling from its first loss of the season and UCLA
appears to be surging.
“We’ve changed many times since that loss,”
UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said. “We’re playing at a
better level and we’re more familiar with the group we have
on the court.”
“We’re moving forward.”
The Bruins hold a 38-6 all-time record against the Huskies, but
in order to improve upon that record, they will need to display a
tremendous defensive effort and keep in check a formidable Christal
Morrison-led Husky offense that has run over teams this year.
“We need a good blocking performance,” Banachowski
said. “We haven’t always been consistent in our front
court and we need better blocking, especially against a team like
Washington.”
However, the Bruins will get a good chance to warm up their
defense and offense Friday against what appears to be a heavily
overmatched Washington State (4-25, 1-15 Pac-10) squad.
UCLA, which has won 19 of the last 20 meetings against
Washington State, swept the Cougars in the only other meeting
between both teams this season.
“We’re really confident going into these
matches,” sophomore middle blocker Nana Meriwether said.
“Doing well in these matches will definitely boost our
confidence and the momentum will help us in the
postseason.”
“These are wins we really need.”
If it wants to host a postseason match at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA
will most likely need to win both games this weekend. Sixteen
schools host first and second round matches and with the Bruins on
the bubble for earning a top-16 seed, coming away from this weekend
with just one win may mean the Bruins are on the road again to open
the NCAA tournament.
“They always say it’s good to split road
trips,” Banachowski said. “But we want to win both of
these.”