Pac-10 volleyball is full of surprises.
With five teams ranked in the top 10, the Pac-10 is arguably the most competitive conference in the country. While not as shocking as the recent shifts in the Bowl Championship Series football standings, this weekend was full of unforeseen results for women’s volleyball teams, including UCLA.
After beating No. 19 Oregon on Thursday in a four-game thriller, the Bruins fell unexpectedly to unranked Oregon State. The Beavers are in second-to-last place in the conference, while UCLA remains tied for third place with USC.
Coaches and players agree that on a typical game night, any Pac-10 team can come away with the win, no matter who the odds are favoring. While national rankings are impressive, every Pac-10 team must be taken seriously.
“We certainly felt that (increased competition) Friday night against Oregon State,” coach Andy Banachowski said. “The competition in the Pac-10 has been incredibly high. Everybody has improved this year, and it has been a real challenge to be playing this tough opposition night in and night out.”
In addition to Oregon State’s upset, No. 9 California ended fifth-ranked Washington’s run for a perfect season, handing the Huskies their first loss of the season. Washington then rebounded and repeated the favor to No. 3 Stanford, giving the Cardinal its first loss of the year.
“That one was a little bit surprising because Washington certainly pulled a great upset to beat Stanford on (the Cardinal’s) home court,” Banachowski said. “It is tough to come in and win on the opposition’s floor, especially when (Washington) had lost the night before.”
Approaching the halfway point of the season, UCLA has gotten a good look at what most of the Pac-10 teams have to offer. The Bruins have also become familiar with their own strengths and the areas that need improvement.
So far this season, they have played consistent defense and shown particular talent for serving. The Bruins’ defense is lead by junior libero Jade Machado and the team is ranked first in the Pac-10 with an average of 18.26 digs per game.
According to Banachowski, the team still has weak spots on the offensive side. Given that the Bruins face some of the nation’s top hitting teams, they need to step up their own offense to keep up with their opponents.
“We need more work on our attack. That’s where we are trying to put our emphasis ““ in our hitting and blocking,” Banachowski said.
Since most teams in the Pac-10 are on a similar level in terms of skill, the Bruins recognize that they will commonly play in matches that extend to four or five games. “We are used to working for that length during practices,” Banachowski said. “Two and a half hours is about what a five-game match is. We are in pretty good shape physically to withstand four- and five-game matches.”
Later this week, the Bruins face both Washington and Washington State before starting the second half of the Pac-10 season.