Volleyball to pick up intensity at home opener
By Farzad Mashhood
Sept. 28, 2009 9:39 p.m.
The UCLA women’s volleyball team is back home.
The No. 16 Bruins will see Pauley Pavilion’s blue and gold sport court for the first time this season with practices in the team’s storied home court beginning this week.
“I’m really excited,” freshman setter Lauren Cook said. “We haven’t played at home, and it’s my first time playing at Pauley.”
With the reeling hangover from Friday’s loss at Arizona State over, the Bruins (11-4, 1-1 Pac-10) are looking forward to their home opener against Stanford on Friday.
“I’m definitely really excited for it,” Cook said.
Coupled with last week’s losses to Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State, the Bruins’ recent losses at the hands of unranked teams have been due in part to a lack of intensity, coach Andy Banachowski said.
“We did really bad against ASU,” Cook said.
As a result, the Bruins have fallen in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I Coaches top-25 poll for two straight weeks.
This week, Cook added, the women’s volleyball squad intensified its practice.
“Practice was super hardcore and really high intensity today,” she said.
Cook said their practice schedule has been covering a host of important areas of improvement.
“We’ve been working on covering. We’ve been working on trusting each other and communication. We’ve been working on hitting different shots and pursuing more on defense,” she said.
Home visits
Cook, a freshman who took over as the squad’s starting setter at the beginning of the season, will be hosting a special guest during this weekend’s matches: her father, John Cook.
John Cook also happens to be the Nebraska women’s volleyball coach and two-time AVCA National Coach of the Year.
Given his travel schedule, John Cook is often unable to see his daughter play. But, with the Cornhuskers off this weekend, John Cook will be present watching Lauren Cook for the first time as a fan.
“I think it will be good for him to come out here and see what we’re all about,” Lauren Cook said. “He’ll simply be here to watch and take it all in.”
John and Lauren Cook were last in the same stadium Sept. 13, when the Bruins defeated the Cornhuskers, 3-2, in the Ameritas Players Challenge in Lincoln, Neb.
“I’m pumped. I haven’t seen him since we played at Nebraska,” Lauren Cook said.
Aside from Lauren Cook’s father visiting this weekend, the Bruins will host No. 11 Stanford Friday and No. 9 California Saturday night. With both teams near the top of the conference, Lauren Cook said she is excited for the Bruins to have a chance to prove themselves at home.
“I just think it will be a really good volleyball match ““ Stanford and Cal are both really good,” she said.
Classes begin for freshmen
Lauren Cook, along with the other six freshmen ““ outside hitter Mari Hole, utility player Bojana Todorovic, outside hitter Rachael Kidder, defense specialist Connor McCracken, outside hitter Michelle Ketter and middle blocker Kim Dolphin ““ had their first day of college classes on Thursday.
For Lauren Cook, it was an exciting experience.
“I sound like a nerd, but I like class,” she said. “I’m really enjoying it. … I love college classes.”
With classes back in session, however, the women’s volleyball team is coping with balancing another aspect of their schedules.
“I go from literally practice to class to weights to study hall,” Lauren Cook said. “You just never have time to sit down. … It’s just hard to go from one thing to the next, but it’s definitely worth it.”
