It was senior night for the women’s volleyball team at
Pauley Pavilion on Friday, but ironically the Bruins’
inexperience cost them the match.
Playing with just two upperclassmen in the rotation, No. 21 UCLA
appeared flat during long stretches of the match, falling in four
games to No. 16 Arizona 32-34, 30-21, 30-21, 30-28.
The Bruins (16-13, 9-9 Pac-10) concluded the Pac-10 slate in a
fifth-place tie with Washington. The squad has not defeated a team
ranked above it since Sept. 2 when it swept No. 9 Ohio State.
“I think our inexperience showed tonight,” said
outside hitter Lauren Fendrick, the lone senior in the lineup
against Arizona (16-10, 11-7). “We have the talent and the
capability to beat good teams, but the chemistry isn’t quite
there because we are so young.”
After a spotty performance throughout much of the match, UCLA
came onto the floor with a renewed sense of urgency in game four.
Trailing 29-25, the Bruins reeled off three straight points before
Arizona sophomore Jolene Killough put away an overpass to subdue
the rally.
Kim Glass and Lisa Rutledge led the Wildcat attack with 23 and
22 kills respectively, as the Bruins struggled to slow down the duo
all night.
“We started playing hard too late,” UCLA head coach
Andy Banachowski said. “It’s really frustrating for the
staff, and I am sure the players feel the same way. We know we are
capable of playing at the intensity level that it will take to win.
We’re just not able to do it 100 percent of the
time.”
Following an emotional ceremony honoring seniors Fendrick,
Lauren Hogan, and Angela Eckmier, UCLA played inspired volleyball
in the early stages of the match.
Nonetheless, after capturing a hard-fought victory in game one,
the Bruins’ passing deteriorated. The Wildcats took advantage
of a series of UCLA miscues to wrest control of the match from the
Bruins.
With Arizona leading 20-11 in the third game of the match, UCLA
head coach Andy Banachowski tried to light a fire under his team.
He removed Fendrick for the remainder of the game, replacing her
with sophomore Teryn Spragg.
“We were just flat at that point, and I thought we needed
a change,” Banachowski said. “Lauren has been battling
a muscle pull out there all season. She doesn’t have the pop
in her legs that she’s had in previous years.”
With just three non-conference matches remaining on the
schedule, the Bruins are running out of time to develop the
continuity necessary to win a big playoff match. The brackets for
the NCAA tournament will be announced next Sunday, and the Bruins
will likely be on the road in the first two rounds.
“We have one senior and one junior out there,”
Banachowski said. “It’s easy to say that next year
we’ll be better, but I think we can get it done this
year.”