Loss to Oregon State little more than disappointing

Oregon St. d. UCLA 25-30, 30-14, 30-22,
30-27

By Andrew Borders
Daily Bruin Reporter

The underachieving UCLA women’s volleyball team was at it
again Monday night at Oregon State.

Just three days after handing OSU (17-9, 10-7 Pac-10) a sweep at
Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins (17-8, 11-6) were dealt a 3-1
defeat.

“We’re at their home. I’m sure they’re a
little more comfortable here,” UCLA head coach Andy
Banachowski said.

The loss marked the first major upset of the season for No. 11
UCLA, and the first defeat in Corvallis in Bruin history. UCLA had
been ranked 12th in the previous AVCA poll and was raised a slot on
the strength of a sweep over the Oregon schools last weekend.

“We had a rough time at the beginning,” UCLA senior
outside hitter Ashley Bowles said, echoing the Bruin trend of
coming out slow against overmatched teams.

The Bruins had taken all those matches, against schools like
Arizona State and Cal, but UCLA’s luck ran out just two
matches before the start of the NCAA Tournament.

“Any loss will hurt your confidence,” UCLA junior
outside hitter Lauren Fendrick said.

The problem for UCLA is, this wasn’t just any loss. A team
with six national titles lost to a team that qualified for the NCAA
Tournament once, in 1983.

It was a loss in which the winning team hit a meager .216. UCLA
hit .126.

It was a loss in which UCLA lost the second game 30-14, hitting
-.171.

“We had quicker vision and quicker feet. We were quicker
in all aspects,” OSU head coach Nancy Somera said.

Not quite, coach.

Playing in the fashion it did, UCLA’s prospects for
tournament success are fading.

Quickly.