UCLA women’s volleyball remains wary of opponents despite success
Legendary coach Al Scates called the game for Pac-12 Network. He said that a set by redshirt junior Ryann Chandler was the greatest of the game. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Melissa Zhang
Oct. 13, 2016 8:32 p.m.
The Bruins just pulled off a major upset on the road against one of the top teams in the Pac-12.
And yet, they’re keeping their heads down.
“We have to keep our underdog status that we have right now,” said freshman outside hitter Torrey Van Winden. “We need to keep grinding through these games, especially on the road.”
No. 20 UCLA women’s volleyball (13-4, 4-3 Pac-12) will head to Oregon State to play the unranked Beavers (8-9, 1-5 Pac-12) Friday. The team is coming off of a five-set win against No. 16 Oregon (12-4, 5-2 Pac-12).
[Related: Women’s volleyball defeats Oregon Ducks in five-set nailbiter]
The Beavers are 3-56 all-time against the Bruins, having last pulled off a win against UCLA in October 2007. Despite this record, Van Winden doesn’t plan on underestimating anyone.
“Every team in the Pac-12 is going to bring their A-game,” Van Winden said. “People are going to play their hardest against us. I think the Oregon game really proved everything we can do, so sticking with that mentality will be huge for us.”
Oregon State, on the other hand, hasn’t had any trouble sticking with this mindset. As coach Michael Sealy points out, the Beavers have the luxury of having that underdog mentality that pushes them to go after tougher teams like UCLA.
“They always play us tough,” Sealy said. “We’ve never had an easy match up there against Oregon State. For them, they’re able to go out and leave it all on the line.”
The Beavers’ offense is led by outside hitters Mary-Kate Marshall and Lanesha Reagan. Marshall leads the team in kills, tallying 240 so far this season, presenting a challenge for senior middle blocker Jennie Frager, who is coming off of a season-best eight roof performance against the Ducks.
“They’re a really good team,” Frager said. “They’ve got a lot of good hitters at the pins – we can’t get too caught up in this win. We have to make sure we’re ready for the next one.”
UCLA will seek a second consecutive Pac-12 win after dropping a five-set match to Arizona at home. This will be the Bruins’ second straight game on the road before returning home to host Stanford and California next week.
