The women’s volleyball team is not heading home for Thanksgiving. Instead, the No. 10 Bruins will be spending the holiday in Arizona as they get set to face Arizona State (15-14, 7-9 Pac-10) on Friday and Arizona (13-16, 3-13 Pac-10) on Saturday.
The last time the Bruins (19-9, 8-8 Pac-10) played in an away series over the Thanksgiving break was the 2004 season, when they traveled to Washington.
According to the Bruins, it was an unforgettable holiday; their flight was delayed and every restaurant was closed by the time they arrived in Pullman, Wash.
“The coaches went to Safeway and picked up cold cuts, organic peanut butter and pretzels,” senior middle blocker Rachell Johnson said. “It was the worst Thanksgiving ever.”
UCLA ended up splitting the series with the Washington schools. Hopefully, this Thanksgiving will be more enjoyable. The team already has plans to celebrate Thanksgiving in a more normal sense.
“We are doing a team Thanksgiving at (freshman setter) Stephanie Nucci’s house because her family is from Arizona,” junior libero Jessica Fine said.
The Bruins will also be celebrating a 3-1 win Tuesday night over Pepperdine. Fine set a school record with 33 digs in the victory.
When the holiday is over, UCLA will compete against Arizona State. In the teams’ first meeting in September, UCLA swept the Sun Devils in three games.
Arizona State is lead by freshman outside hitter Sarah Reaves, who is averaging 4.33 kills per game.
The Sun Devils also have a defensive weapon in senior libero Sydney Donahue. Donahue is the leader in digs in the Pac-10, averaging 6.16 per game. Donahue and UCLA’s own libero, Fine, are old friends who both played volleyball for the Sports Shack Volleyball Club.
“Sydney and I have always been very competitive, so it will be fun to see her across the net,” Fine said.
In the past, Arizona State has been the host of many aggressive volleyball fans. However, due to the holiday break, the Bruins are hoping the fans will not be as much of a concern.
“Typically the fans aren’t an issue, but their fans were really inappropriate and we just felt really embarrassed for them,” Johnson said.
UCLA will go on to face Arizona on Saturday night. Earlier this season, the Wildcats took one game from the Bruins, but UCLA then won the next three to win the match. Arizona’s top hitter is junior opposite hitter Randy Goodenough, who averages 3.80 kills per game. UCLA is accustomed to facing strong outside hitters, so facing a strong hitter on the right side changes its blocking scheme.
“We like to depend on our right side blockers when we are facing a good outside,” Johnson said. “But if we have a good opposite, then we have to rely on our left side blockers. We also have to keep in mind that she is a lefty.”
This weekend’s series signifies the end of the Pac-10 season. While this holiday break brings Thanksgiving festivities to the team, it also brings the NCAA selection decisions on Sunday, which will determine the Bruins’ seeding in the playoffs.
“I want to finish the conference off strong,” coach Andy Banachowski said. “It will be important for us to play well, to feel good about how we’re doing going into (the) postseason.”