Bruins expect tough match from Waves

  JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Senior
Michelle Quon digs the ball in Bruins’ sweep over
USC Friday. UCLA is now second in Pac-10.

By Andrew Borders
Daily Bruin Contributor

When a college volleyball fan hears the phrase
“non-conference match,” it usually means a lopsided
contest meant as a tune-up for a more difficult conference
schedule.

But that isn’t the case tonight as the No. 7 Bruins face
the No. 12 Pepperdine Waves at Pauley Pavilion.

“Pepperdine is having a great year, they’re a little
bit stronger than they were last year, so we’ve got to be
ready to have our best game,” said UCLA head coach Andy
Banachowski.

The Bruins enter the match after a win over USC on Friday, which
moved them into second place in the Pac-10. And even though this
match doesn’t count in terms of conference standings, the
Bruins may face their West Coast Conference neighbors come NCAA
tournament time.

The teams matched-up twice in the 1999 season. Pepperdine took
an intense five-game win in their first meeting, but the Bruins had
the last laugh as they eliminated the Waves in a three-game sweep
in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs. Today 7 p.m. Pauley
Pavillion www.uclabruins.com Tonight is
important, and the Bruins know every match matters.

“At this point in the season, any game is crucial ““
everything matters, and Pepperdine has a wonderful team,”
senior middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman said.

In conference games, Pepperdine is second in the WCC in hitting
percentage, kills, assists and blocks. Four of the top five players
in the hitting percentage column are Waves, as are the runners-up
in individual assists and blocks.

But the Bruins have posted impressive numbers of their own. UCLA
is third in the Pac-10 in hitting percentage, kills, assists,
blocks and aces.

Individual matchups to watch include the hitting percentage
battle between Bachman, who averages .379 per game, and the four
Waves in who lead the WCC: setter Melissa Plass, middle Jennifer
Fopma, outside hitter Stacy Rouwenhourst and middle Kate Taylor.
Plass hits .522 per game, while her teammates range between .399
and .354.

And just because the WCC may not be as well known as the Pac-10,
the Bruins must take notice that two other members of the WCC are
in the Top 25: Santa Clara at No. 16, and Loyola Marymount at No.
22.

“There’s not going to be the bitter rivalry of
playing USC, but the importance of playing Pepperdine is
huge,” Banachowski said.