Just six opportunities remain for the Bruins to evade a .500 finish to the season.

With a chance to turn the page on a loss to a bottom-of-the-barrel Maryland squad, UCLA women’s volleyball (11-12, 5-9 Big Ten) has an opportunity to rebound with its first of a two-game homestand against Washington (18-6, 8-6) at Pauley Pavilion on Wednesday night.

“After a game like this, (what’s important is) just resetting as fast as possible,” said graduate student setter Audrey Pak after UCLA’s match on Saturday. “Knowing that we have great opponents to play next week – so just getting as much better as we can in this short amount of time.”

The Bruins’ loss to the Terrapins was just the team’s second game with Pak back in the lineup after the veteran playmaker missed two games with an undisclosed injury.

“I don’t think we’re in that match tonight without her,” said coach Alfee Reft on Pak’s 44 assists and nine digs against Maryland.

With six games left in the season, the Bruins are reaching for new levels of defensive fortitude – something they’ve been working towards all year.

“We got to get tougher,” Reft said. “I thought we adapted to find a new level of defensive scrap and that grittiness.”

The Bruins will likely push to keep their postseason hopes alive, with their RPI at No. 78 with only 64 spots available in the NCAA tournament. By comparison, five of UCLA’s next six opponents rank higher in RPI as the Bruins sit on the verge of missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year.

In the two teams’ previous matchup on Oct. 9, the Bruins closed out a win in four sets, winning three straight after dropping the first frame to the Huskies. Despite the win, the Bruins struggled to maintain dominance, with every set ending in a three-point difference or less.

But what happened then has little bearing Wednesday.

“We’re just really trying to focus on taking it one day at a time,” said graduate student middle hitter Leilani Dodson, who posted 23 kills and seven blocks over UCLA’s past two games. “Honestly, every touch matters and just trying to get better as much as we can for each game.”