Kaitlin Sather leads UCLA women’s volleyball to two home victories
Senior opposite Kaitlin Sather plays during Saturday’s sweep of Oregon State. Sather recorded two double-doubles against both Oregon schools over the weekend.
By Farzad Mashhood
Oct. 25, 2009 10:57 p.m.
A quick glance into Pauley Pavilion during the first set of Saturday’s women’s volleyball match against Oregon State would show who this weekend was about.
Senior opposite Kaitlin Sather was all over the court, playing nearly every point in the first set of the Bruins’ sweep of Oregon State Saturday night. In addition, she joined the 1,000-dig, 1,000-kill club, racking up 24 kills and 32 digs over the weekend.
Led by Sather’s performance, the No. 13 Bruins (16-6, 6-3 Pac-10) won both of their weekend matches, downing No. 12 Oregon (14-5, 4-5) in five sets (26-24, 25-18, 22-25, 22-25, 15-9) on Friday and sweeping Oregon State (11-10, 2-7) on Saturday.
For Sather, the back-to-back wins show the Bruins’ newfound maturity. Maintaining composure after a big win has been a problem for the Bruins this season, but Sather said it was not an issue after the big win over Oregon.
“I think we matured as a team tonight. I think as a team we showed some resiliency to come back and play another big match.”
The more important of the two wins for the Bruins was the five-set defeat of Oregon. The win marks UCLA’s fourth win over a higher-ranked team ““ a good sign for a young squad looking for confidence and to finish atop the conference standings.
“We’re getting better as competitors, and we’re getting better as a team,” said coach Andy Banachowski after Friday’s win. “We had a great opportunity tonight to knock off somebody that is higher than us … it still feels good that we are improving our game.”
The Bruins opened up Friday’s match with a comfortable two-set lead, silencing Oregon’s duo of outside hitter Sonja Newcombe and middle blocker Neticia Enesi.
Oregon quieted UCLA’s offense, forcing a fifth set, at which point UCLA took over. An ace by sophomore libero Lainey Gera to open an 8-3 lead for the Bruins left Oregon outside hitters Heather Meyers and Katherine Fischer watching the ball bounce past them.
The Bruins went on to take that set 15-9.
With freshman outside hitter Rachael Kidder blocking for setter Lauren Cook in the front row, the Bruins were able to quiet Oregon’s potent offense. After the win, Banachowski praised his team’s blocking.
“We got into situations where we were able to bring in our big blockers, and we ended up with 18.5 blocks in the match,” he said. “It gives us a different look to be able to serve as tough as we are and then be able to block.”
The following night, facing a weaker Beaver squad, the Bruins did not miss a beat.
They continued their hot blocking and serving, posting nine team blocks and four aces.
In addition, UCLA held Oregon State to a mere .132 clip.
The wins give the Bruins some much-needed confidence before their two-weekend road trip, said junior outside hitter Dicey McGraw.
“These wins are actually very important, but they are more of a confidence-booster,” she said.
Banachowski agreed that coming away with a pair of wins, rather than splitting, gave an added element of confidence.
Pac-10 goes wild at the top
No. 4 Washington was shocked Friday night by host Washington State, the Huskies’ first loss to the Cougars since 2002. The loss is only Washington’s second of the year.
No. 18 USC also upset Oregon, sweeping it Saturday night at the Galen Center.
The Bruins now hold sole possession of third place in the conference.
“I think the Pac-10 is crazy right now,” Sather said. “Everything is up for grabs. If we play well and consistent, then we’ve got a chance at finishing really high.”
With reports from Eli Smukler, Bruin Sports senior staff.
