The No. 9 UCLA women’s volleyball team is a squad on the rebound.
After losing five of their past six Pac-10 matches, the Bruins (16-7, 6-6 Pac-10) are focusing on a key element that will turn them back into Final Four contenders: a competitive spirit.
As the Bruins get set to travel to Oregon State (10-15, 3-10) today and No. 20 Oregon (16-9, 5-8) on Friday, they have been focusing less on the specifics of their opponents and more on their own dynamics.
Earlier this season, Oregon State pulled a huge upset when it defeated UCLA in a five-game match. But rather than looking to avenge the loss, the Bruins are working on their comeback and the team’s desire to compete.
“It’s all about how we finish right now,” junior outside hitter Ali Daley said. “Our focus in practice has not been on revenge or making sure we win because we lost the last time. What we need to do is not only beat Oregon State but to beat every team.”
The team’s biggest goal is to compete for every play and every ball. The team has been running scrimmages with the losing side running “beep tests.” Beep tests are a type of conditioning consisting of line sprints.
“If you ask anyone on our team, (beep tests are) the most God-awful thing ever,” Daley said. “(Coach Andy Banachowski) has been challenging us to compete. No one wants to do the beep test.”
Banachowski’s method seems to be working as the team has seen its thirst to compete increase within the past week.
“We are learning to play competitively,” senior middle blocker Rachell Johnson said. “We were literally trying to take each other’s heads off.”
If UCLA is able to remain competitive for every minute of play, the Bruins will have a good shot at boosting their .500 Pac-10 record. UCLA holds a 41-3 all-time advantage over Oregon State, which is one reason why the previous loss came as such a surprise. In that match, Oregon State’s sophomore outside hitter Rachel Rourke led the Beavers with 25 kills.
“We need to work on exploiting their weaknesses,” Johnson said. “We need to key in on (Rourke). They have a pretty spread-out offense overall. We also need to stay away from their libero, (Ashley Evans).”
After tonight’s match, UCLA will travel to Eugene to play Oregon. The Ducks have dropped seven of their past nine matches but still remain a nationally ranked opponent. Oregon is led by junior outside hitter Gorana Maricic, who leads the Pac-10 with 5.21 kills per game. UCLA is going into this weekend’s series with the same seriousness as every week but with a bit more of a competitive spirit.
“We cannot underestimate Oregon or Oregon State,” Daley said.
“Once we get (our desire to compete) fixed, everyone will see a huge change in our team. I think we are going to surprise a lot of people at the end of the season.”