A trip to Hawaii is not always about relaxation.
As the No. 6 UCLA women’s volleyball team makes its preseason trip to the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Bruins will use the preseason to gauge where they measure up against the nation’s best competition.
The team’s tough opening matches will set the tone for the rest of the season as the Bruins get set to face teams from arguably the nation’s most talented conference, the Pac-10.
In Hawaii, the Bruins will kick off their season against Ohio, Penn State and Hawai’i. As the defending national champion, Penn State will be UCLA’s biggest preseason obstacle. The match against the Nittany Lions will provide the team with the solid experience they will need for conference and postseason play.
Hawai’i, who consistently has had a strong program, will also provide a big test for UCLA. With the home-state advantage, Hawai’i will also have the have the vocal support of the crowd on their side.
“(The preseason) is going to tell us where we are at right away,” head coach Andy Banachowski said. “We will be able to see how we stack up at the national championship level.”
After the preseason, UCLA begins Pac-10 play against crosstown rival USC on Sept. 26. After finishing tied for fifth last year, the Bruins will face another plethora of talented teams, including Stanford, USC, California and Washington.
In recent years, teams who previously were not recognized as having strong volleyball programs have proven that they can now challenge the top-tier programs in the conference.
“The great thing about the Pac-10 is that you have to come out every game ready to play, otherwise one of these teams will catch you off guard,” senior setter Nellie Spicer said.
This year, the UCLA roster brings a taller and more offense-minded team to the court.
With the introduction of eight true freshmen, the Bruins have added height to their roster. Freshmen Amanda Gil and Katie Camp, at 6 foot 6 inches and 6-5, respectively, will assume the roles of starting middle blockers. At 6-4, freshman outside hitter Sara Sage will add a high block to the left side.
“One of the things we wanted to do was to get bigger, and we did that with this class,” Banachowski said. “I think that the freshmen are going to play a very important role in our success this year.”
The Bruins return with their All-American setter in Spicer, who is on track to break the school’s assists record. Senior outside hitter Ali Daley adds much-needed experience to the offense. Last season she averaged 3.69 kills per game.
“We have more of an offense this year and we have a good defense like last year, which makes us a whole step further ahead,” Daley said.
A big piece that will be missing from the team is senior opposite hitter Kaitlin Sather. Before the start of preseason training, Sather underwent surgery on her right bicep. According to Banachowski, it has not been determined how much of the season she will miss, but the possibility of her returning this season is slim.
“I am not expecting her to be back this season, which is a disappointment,” he said. “The load she carried for us last year as an attacker will be hard to replace.”
Also on the disabled list is sophomore middle blocker, Katie Mills. Mills has missed a lot of training due to a back injury and surgery in the offseason. She is expected to slowly rejoin the team.
Even with a tough preseason and a challenging conference schedule lined up, the team has its eye on a Pac-10 title and beyond.
“We always come out and want to win a national championship and the Pac-10,” Spicer said. “We need to come prepared for every match and not overlook anyone because, come NCAA tournament time, we can’t have a bad game.”