Women’s volleyball to battle Washington schools in Pauley Pavilion
By Stephanie Lowe
Nov. 12, 2009 10:16 p.m.
It will be a battle for first place in the Pac-10 this weekend in Pauley Pavilion.
The UCLA women’s volleyball team is set to play Washington State today and Washington on Saturday.
No. 4 Washington currently holds the first place position in the conference, and the Bruins will take a shot at the Huskies in their run for the Pac-10 title.
Washington State enters the series ranked in the nation’s top 25 but has lost four consecutive matches.
Earlier this season, No. 6 UCLA swept No. 25 Washington State in Pullman. Redshirt senior opposite Kaitlin Sather had a season high 16 kills and an impressive .560 hitting percentage in that match.
The Cougars are led by sophomore outside hitter Meagan Ganzer who averages 3.10 kills per set this season. On the defensive end, senior middle blocker Cassie Robbins is third in the Pac-10 with 1.26 blocks per game.
Meanwhile, UCLA’s sophomore middle blocker Amanda Gil leads the Pac-10 in the blocks per set category with 1.73.
Washington State has not defeated UCLA in Pauley Pavilion since 1997. The Bruins lead the all-time series 40-7 and have won the past 13 matches.
On Saturday, UCLA will face a tough Washington opponent. In October, the Huskies beat the Bruins in four sets in Seattle. But since the last time the two teams played, UCLA has won six straight, using the past few weeks of conference play to grow and come together as a team.
“We are playing better volleyball right now, which is a far cry from where we were at the beginning of the season,” coach Andy Banachowski said.
After the Bruins pulled out their sixth win in a row last week against USC, Sather mentioned how much the Bruins have progressed.
“A win like tonight shows how mature we are now in our season than we were at the beginning of the season,” Sather said.
UCLA hopes to keep its winning streak alive this weekend, but first it will have to get past the Huskies’ junior outside hitter Kindra Carlson. Carlson is averaging 4.48 kills per set in Pac-10 play.
Meanwhile, sophomore middle blocker Bianca Rowland leads the conference with a .413 hitting percentage.
Washington is a strong team all-around, ranked in the top three in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills and service aces.
The Bruins lead the all-time series against the Huskies 40-16. UCLA has not beaten Washington at home since the 2006 season, but according to the team, the Bruins are optimistic about this weekend.
“I think so far were just building our confidence and getting ready for Washington and hoping to go 2-0 against Washington and Washington State,” Gil said.
Bruins sign new recruit
Banachowski announced yesterday the signing of Kelly Reeves, a 6-foot outside hitter and a senior at Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego.
Banachowski said in a press release that Reeves, a two-time, first-team All-CIF and Western League Player of the Year, will be a good replacement for Sather, an outgoing senior.
