UCLA women’s volleyball zoned in for Stanford, Cal road games

As the UCLA women’s volleyball team prepares to travel to the Bay Area this weekend to once again take on Stanford and Cal, the team has made slow but steady improvement since the last time it played these teams. Nearly four weeks ago, the UCLA women’s volleyball team took on Stanford and Cal in back-to-back matches at Pauley Pavilion.

In the first match, against No. 5 Stanford (15-5, 8-3 Pac-12), the team was demolished by the Cardinal, losing 3-0 and dropping each set by more than seven points.

In the next, against California (13-6, 6-4), the Bruins turned their play around, hanging with – and at times outplaying – the Golden Bears. But that decisive finish was not there – they let Cal stay in the game, and the Bears capitalized.

“Coming off that demoralizing loss (to Colorado, in the match before the home stand), we didn’t really show up,” said coach Michael Sealy. “I thought the girls and the team in general didn’t do a good job of being present and were still trapped into what was behind.”

Since those games, the Bruins are 3-3 and have maintained focus in their victories, moving on positively from every point, successful or not. In its losses, the team has played well, battling back time and time again.

“I think just our fight is what has changed,” said junior middle blocker Zoe Nightingale. “If we’re going down, we’re going down swinging, something we haven’t had in a while.”

Furthermore, the team has done a better job of rebounding from losses, as evidenced by the fact that the Bruins have not lost back-to-back matches since their five-game Pac-12 skid earlier in the season. Coming off a 1-1 homestand against Washington and Washington State, UCLA believes it has settled in and found the calm and focus it needs to succeed.

“I (think we’re) doing a good job of bouncing back and getting the win the next day,” said junior setter Megan Moenoa. “I think that any win is a good win for us right now, as we’re trying to build confidence and get that feeling of what it’s like to win again.”

Despite this renewed confidence and focus, the road ahead won’t be easy, as the opponents the Bruins will take on will be challenging.

Stanford has gone 5-2 in its last seven games. The Cardinal attack is led by senior middle blocker Carly Wopat, who is hitting .466 and is second on the team with 192 kills. Cal has won three straight and is 8-3 at home.

It will be tough going for UCLA this weekend, but the team understands that and is ready for what may come. The Bruins have two vital components that were lacking early in the Pac-12 season – confidence in themselves as a team and renewed focus.

“We want to start the second half (of the Pac-12 season) better than how we started the first half,” Moenoa said. “We’re definitely going to go into both games with a lot of focus.”