Women’s volleyball aims to assert itself against national contenders

Right now, the UCLA women’s volleyball team is only two matches away from becoming a 0.500 team.

With opponents like No. 1 Stanford and No. 11 Oregon on the schedule in the upcoming three weeks, it is clear the team’s fate in its last eight matches will be in its own hands as far as qualification for the NCAA championships.

Throughout the preseason, it seemed as if the unfortunate memories of a failed NCAA qualification last season were still fresh in the Bruins’ minds. With seven consecutive wins at the start of the season, most of which ended in just three sets, UCLA proved it was ready to fight.

But national championship contenders like Stanford and No. 2 Washington know how to fight back.

While the No. 15 Bruins’ (16-7, 7-5 Pac-12) record indicates they are in a much better place than they were at this time last year, losses to highly ranked teams like Stanford and Washington show the Bruins may still not be quite where they need to be in order to reclaim the national title for the first time since 2011.

“Who cares? We’re going one match at a time,” said coach Michael Sealy. “We just have to play our schedule, play as well as we can, and try to win every match one at a time.”

The team has shown a much-increased ability to stand up against tougher teams. A four-set win against Oregon earlier this season and a three-set preseason win over Illinois – who the Bruins defeated in the 2011 national championships – not only helped boost rankings, but also helped UCLA define itself as a new team.

It isn’t all about the stats, though – UCLA’s impressive lineup may also be the difference UCLA needs. Both senior outside hitter Karsta Lowe, who is ranked No. 1 in kills and points per a set, and freshman outside hitter Reily Buechler have received Pac-12 weekly awards within the past month. Senior setter Julie Consani, who is in her first season at UCLA, is currently ranked No. 9 in the nation for assists per a set.

“I think just continuing to play our game, knowing that we’re a good team and having faith that we can keep getting good wins,” Lowe said.

With both the top-ranked outside hitter and setters, and wins against highly ranked schools like Oregon, the only thing left for UCLA to check off its agenda is a win against a national contender. It will be these next three weeks that set the pace for the rest of the season.

“We know that our volleyball is enough, we’re enough,” said sophomore defensive specialist/libero Taylor Formico. “If we can just play steady and consistent, take care of the little things like serve and pass then I think we have no problem.”