They had swept Stanford the previous week and were ranked higher
than the No. 6 Bruins, yet there was no question as to who was the
better team Friday night.
Even with all the momentum going into Friday’s matchup,
No. 4 USC could not contain the mighty Bruins. In front of a crowd
of 4,739 that spilled over into the upper-level seats, UCLA swept
the Women of Troy in convincing fashion — 30-25,
30-22, 30-20. The Bruins’ record now stands at 26-3 overall
and 13-3 in the Pac-10, while the Trojans fell to 23-4 and
12-4.
This was the first time in over six years that the Bruins have
swept the season series against the Trojans, with the last sweep
coming in 1999.
“It’s just amazing to beat them with a sweep in our
home gym,” senior Colby Lyman said, who hadn’t beaten
the Trojans while at UCLA until earlier this year in October.
“It’s picture perfect for me.”
But the night did not start off so easily for the Bruins. UCLA
got off to a slow start by shooting themselves in the foot with a
few unforced errors and were down by as much as seven points in
Game 1. Later, however, when they were down 23-24, the Bruins took
off on a 7-1 scoring run to shut out the Trojans, led by three of
senior Katie Carter’s 14 kills.
“I think we really battled it out in that first
game,” coach Andy Banachowski said. “We did a good job
of being steady and coming back and winning that first
game.”
Part of the reason why the Bruins’ offense got off to a
strong start was because of a small change in the lineup. All the
regular starters were on the court but with a minor jersey swap.
Lyman was inserted into the match as the starting libero, while
normal libero Jordan Smith substituted in for Carter in the back
row. Meanwhile, Jade Machado, who regularly fills in for Carter as
defensive specialist, took care of Kaitlin Sather’s back-row
duties.
This all resulted in one of the Bruins’ strongest
defensive outings of the season, especially in the rotation in
which Lyman, Machado and Smith all guarded the backcourt.
“Colby has consistently been our best passer,”
Banachowski said. “So this was an opportunity to get her out
there passing all the time.”
Lyman, diving for balls left and right, led the team with 17
digs on the night.
“For me it was nice, because I don’t have to worry
about trying to pass and then hit,” Lyman said of her debut
as libero. “It felt really good. Hopefully I get to continue
back there.”
Not only was the UCLA back row sound, but the front-row defense
was nearly impenetrable throughout the night, as well. The Bruins
out-blocked their crosstown rival 15 to four. On virtually every
other kill attempt by the Trojans, UCLA managed to get at least a
finger on the ball to slow it down to help pave the way for a
well-prepared attack.
“‘SC is a more left-side hitting team, so our
right-side block did a good job of getting blocks,”
Banachowski said. “(Even most of the) deflections … turned
into points.”
“(The touches on the blocks) really did (help us set up
our offense),” middle blocker Rachell Johnson said.
“They have a great offense and really strong hitters. With
the touches we got on our blocks, we were able to run our offense
very fast.”
Johnson, who added five blocks on the night, also added seven
kills at an errorless .538 clip. She was also a stout defender in
the back row, picking up crucial digs late in the match, something
middle blockers aren’t notorious for.
“I felt pretty good night tonight,” Johnson, whom
assistant coach Kim Jagd called a “superstar,” said.
“My dad sent me a card in the mail that I wasn’t
supposed to open until 10 minutes before the match. Reading that
card was really inspirational.”
“This is one of the best performances that Rachell has
had, and it’s a great time for her to break it out,”
Banachowski said. “It just shows what she’s capable of
doing out there, and we want some more of that from her for the
rest of the season.”
UP NEXT: As the regular season winds down, the
Bruins have only three matches left. First up is No. 25 Pepperdine,
whom UCLA will face off against tonight in Pauley Pavilion at 7
p.m.