Women’s volleyball to start 2nd half of Pac-12 play against Washington schools
http://dailybruin.com/2019/11/01/mens-soccer-ties-with-cal-for-second-time-loses-chance-to-earn-ncaa-bid/
Women's Volleyball
No. 22 Washington State
Friday, 7 p.m.
Pullman, Washington
Pac-12 Networks
No. 12 Washington
Sunday, 2 p.m.
Seattle, Washington
Pac-12 Networks
By Coral Smith
Nov. 1, 2019 12:56 a.m.
The second half of Pac-12 play is about to begin.
No. 25 UCLA women’s volleyball (12-7, 7-3 Pac-12) will travel north to face No. 22 Washington State (18-4, 7-3) and No. 12 Washington (16-4, 7-3) for the second time this season, after previously hosting the two squads four weeks earlier.
The Bruins sit at 7-3 in conference play, tied with the Huskies and Cougars for second place in the Pac-12, along with the California Golden Bears. Coach Michael Sealy said each team in the Pac-12 has the potential to win any matchup, so it’s all down to which manages to have a good day.
“What’s been interesting this year in the Pac-12 is I think every team has been Jekyll and Hyde,” Sealy said. “Every team has some amazing days and every team has some bad days, so it’s just minimizing and managing the bad days and trying to be your best when you need to be.”
The Bruins moved into the top 25 for the first time this season ahead of this weekend’s matchups, after upsetting both then-No. 2 Stanford in three sets and then-No. 15 California in four sets. Both wins came at home for UCLA, as did the Bruins’ only other two upsets over ranked competition.
Washington is 5-0 at home and Washington State is 7-1.
Now forced to reckon with two ranked teams on the road, sophomore libero Kelli Barry said UCLA will have to adjust quickly in order to edge Washington and Washington State out on their home courts.
“Being at their place, it’s going to be tougher for us to acclimated to the gym, the crowd, the weather and everything,” Barry said. “We just have to have a positive mentality, an aggressive mentality, and go in there and do our thing, play our game and take control, and I think if we do that, everything will work out.”
The last time UCLA faced Washington State, the Bruins swept the Cougars in Pauley Pavilion. Washington State was held to a .082 hitting percentage, and no player for the Cougars recorded more than seven kills, in comparison to three Bruins who logged double-digit kills.
Despite the victory earlier this season, senior outside hitter Savvy Simo said UCLA cannot underestimate Washington State.
“It’s important to know that even though we beat Washington State 3-0, that it’s still going to be a really hard game for us,” Simo said. “We need to be mentally prepared, physically prepared going into that, and it’s not going to be easy.”
Against the Huskies, the Bruins were only able to win one set, despite recording a higher hitting percentage and more kills overall than Washington. Sealy said the deciding factor in the loss came at the service line, where the Huskies collected nine aces to the Bruins’ two.
“They served really tough; I think that match came down to the serve and pass,” Sealy said. “We definitely know they have great servers and they serve tough into certain areas, so it’s just making sure that our passers can limit the amount of aces and one-passes, and keep the ball up, so we can take a swing.”
Friday’s match versus the Cougars will begin at 7 p.m. in Pullman, Washington, while Sunday’s contest against the Huskies will start at 2 p.m. in Seattle.
