First Pac-12 victory gives UCLA women’s volleyball morale boost
Seniors middle blocker Mariana Aquino (left) and outside hitter Kelly Reeves (center) attempt to block the ball in their game against California. After losing to Oregon on October 11, the team met in order to tackle its losing streak. After the meeting, which the players called an hour and a half of “focus,” the team claimed its first Pac-12 victory against Oregon State.
By Anay Dattawadkar
Oct. 17, 2013 1:19 a.m.
It was a tale that had been told too many times before: The UCLA women’s volleyball team, despite playing well enough to hang with its opponents, made a few key mistakes, fell behind at a crucial point and could not catch up, eventually losing the match.
However, this loss, a 3-1 defeat to Oregon on Friday, would not go into the books as just another defeat. After the match, the Bruins decided to meet and discuss how to combat the issues that had been plaguing them.
“The game against Oregon was rough,” said freshman setter Jordan Robbins. “And in the locker room afterward we kind of came together as a team for an hour and a half and really focused.”
The meeting allowed team members to get their feelings out after a stretch of adversity that saw the Bruins drop five straight matches. Team members said that the meeting helped them recognize their discontent with their past performance, and encouraged them to move forward with a new attitude.
The adjustment paid off as the Bruins, despite being down 8-4 in the final set against Oregon State in the next match, rebounded to claim their first Pac-12 victory.
“I just think that people were sick and tired of losing, and we had been in situations like that, but we had never pushed as hard as we could,” Robbins said. “We were sick of losing, and we were finally able to finish and push to the end.”
The postgame meeting fired the Bruins up, according to Robbins, and gave them confidence in themselves – confidence bolstered by their victory a day later. For senior outside hitter Kelly Reeves, the meeting also allowed her a chance to step back from the whirlwind of stress that is a sports season.
“Me being a senior, it’s important to be appreciative of your teammates and what we have at UCLA,” she said. “And I got away from that a little bit, and I was so worried about the outcomes and the results, but I just realized that there was more to it.”
It is clear that the meeting after the Oregon game allowed the Bruins to come together in more ways than one. The team feels as if it has momentum now, and UCLA is playing with a renewed confidence. However, according to coach Michael Sealy, the team still has steps to take in the right direction.
“We are still almost there. I think that there’s areas we have to get better at,” he said. “As long as (the team) brings the energy, and the coaches can keep tweaking, working on some things, I think we should be good.”
