Young players haven’t perfected game

There’s no denying it, now. The UCLA women’s volleyball team is in a rut.

After weeks of attempting to break into the upper echelon of the Pac-10, the No. 9 Bruins (16-8, 6-7 Pac-10) have settled into a space for themselves in the middle of the conference, coming in at sixth place.

Despite losing four of their last six matches, the Bruins still maintain a solid national ranking, however, partly because they play in the toughest conference in the country. Six teams in the Pac-10 are ranked in the top 25 national teams.

But for a team that has its sights set on the Final Four, the lack of significant wins continues to be frustrating.

Last weekend, UCLA predictably swept Washington State (7-17, 0-13), but then, in a game that could have returned a swell of confidence to their season, the Bruins dropped a four-set match to No. 5 Washington (19-4, 10-3).

“We came out really fired up and strong in the first game, and then I think once they got their momentum going and they got a few good runs … with their serving, it just took hold of us,” senior setter Nellie Spicer said. “We weren’t able to recoup after that.”

Some of the responsibility for the Bruins’ stagnant position consistently falls on the team’s youth.

With freshman middle blocker Amanda Gil quickly becoming one of the top front-line players in the conference, in addition to the contributions of some of her talented young teammates, the Bruins will certainly have the opportunity to be a dominant team in the future.

But in terms of this season, there has been a constant question as to whether these young players can perfect their game in time to send the Bruins on a serious postseason run.

“Obviously, when you have freshmen on the court, they are expected to do so much when it’s already their first year here,” Spicer said.

“They’ve been doing a great job and they’ve been getting better week by week, but we just need that to keep growing.

“And since the season is coming to an end, we need them to grow faster and faster each week so we can get to the point where we can be in the Final Four.”

As crunch time approaches for the Bruins, the importance of each of their games, especially those against top schools, increases dramatically.

Even though she is in her last year as a Bruin, Spicer denies that she feels any extra pressure to win games because the season’s clock is running out of time.

“Especially being in the middle of the Pac-10, it’s not like we have to stay No. 1, stay undefeated, or anything,” Spicer said.

In the coming weeks, the next step for the Bruins might be accepting a new role in the conference and fighting hard to stay competitive.

“Right now, we just need to go out as underdogs and just play our hearts out,” Spicer said.

AROUND THE PAC-10: In the upset of the weekend, Arizona swept No. 7 California in Tucson.

The Wildcats’ sophomore outside hitter Tiffany Owens recorded 17 kills and 19 digs in Arizona’s match against California.

Conference leader No. 2 Stanford clung to its top spot by sweeping both Arizona and Arizona State on the road, making its 2008 season the 28th 20-win season in the school’s history.

The Cardinal’s senior middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo was named the Pac-10 Volleyball Player of the Week for the second time this season, making a .634 hitting percentage over two matches as well as contributing 4.67 kills per set.

In the week’s rivalry game, No. 8 Oregon beat Oregon State for the sixth straight time.

Oregon netted a team hitting percentage of .378 in the match.

Washington protected its home court by beating UCLA in four sets and No. 10 USC in just three.

Against the Trojans, sophomore outside hitter Becky Perry led the Huskies with 18 kills and a .517 hitting percentage.