“The Catcher in the Rye” centers on Holden Caulfield’s struggle to accept his inevitable transition to adulthood.

The title of the novel alludes to Caulfield’s fantasy where he catches children before they fall off a rye cliff.

He hopes to slow and unwind time.

And although the protagonist’s desires are impossible to achieve, they reflect the value of slowing things down. Methodical rather than rushed approaches often benefit sports teams.

UCLA women’s volleyball (12-9, 6-5 Big Ten) will face Washington (10-11, 5-6) Sunday afternoon at Pauley Pavilion, a match in which the squad may prioritize steadying its rhythm.

“We got to get back to some mindset work and just how to regulate our own mat, our own game, emotionally, mentally, and stay in the speeds that we train at,” said coach Alfee Reft. “We see it for a large part of the match, and then it just dissipates very quickly, so [we must] steady … out when it gets a little hard out there.”

This is especially true from the service line.

UCLA committed 11 service errors in its straight-set defeat against USC on Wednesday – the first time the team reached double-digit blunders since notching 13 in its five-set loss to Purdue on Oct. 2.

Reft said that the Bruins’ service line process looked rushed on multiple occasions at the Galen Center.

Quality serves are used to limit opposing liberos and setters’ abilities to orchestrate an attack. The Trojans accrued 51 kills and 48 assists across just three sets Wednesday night.

“It (the match) was moving pretty fast, and I think we try to replicate that in our practices when it’s high pressure, fast situations,” said senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette. “Learning how can we take control, and playing at the pace we want to play at, controlling the tempo, not letting [and] not playing to their (opposing teams) pace, but setting our rhythms.”

Sophomore setter Kate Duffey particularly struggled to find her groove from the backline, recording a team-leading four service errors, which also marked the setter’s career high.

Duffey still helped spearhead an efficient attack that logged a .302 hitting percentage compared to the Trojans’ .285 clip.

But the Ventura, California, local seemingly diagnosed the Bruins’ main ailment that contributed to the rivalry outcome.

“I think just like lowering our huddles, taking individual, long breaths in between rallies to take your moment to reset,” Duffey said.

Although UCLA boasts a 57% road winning clip – compared to a 40% victory clip at home – the team has dropped two of its last three road contests, including another straight-set loss to then-No. 9 Wisconsin on Oct. 17.

The Bruins have captured just three set victories across their six road defeats and have suffered three sweeps on the road.

Hostile noise could be the culprit behind UCLA’s recent tendencies to rush, since rival crowds can often accelerate a player’s thoughts on the court. Duffey said USC’s crowd was a factor in the match’s outcome despite the team’s supposed comfort in opposing teams’ arenas – graduate student middle blocker Phekran Kong said the squad thrives off a hostile crowd’s sporadic energy, following UCLA’s straight-set triumph against Minnesota on Oct. 8.

But Reft’s squad could have an easier time embracing a methodological approach Sunday in front of a home crowd against Washington, a squad that has lost three of its last four games despite sweeping Oregon on Friday night.

Washington ranks among the Big Ten’s bottom six programs in both kills per set and hitting percentage, averaging 12.48 and 0.241 clips, respectively.

The Huskies’ lack of offensive firepower and consistency may ostensibly elicit a calmer Bruin mentality heading into Sunday’s affair.

However, part of embodying stillness on the court is worrying about what a given team can control rather than focusing on an opposing team’s play.

But maintaining that control is difficult.

“There was a lot of moments we felt like we were in control, and then in the middle of the set, it fell away from us,” Duffey said. “I feel like we were consistently in control all the way through [but] this match (against USC), not as consistently. That was the difference.”

Leverette said she regulates her mental focus and game metronome on the court through the “one point at a time” mentality. The outside hitter added that she first focuses on reaching the five-point threshold at the start of a set.

Caulfield’s efforts to retain innocence were unsuccessful, since time’s stoppage is not feasible.

But it may just take a shifted on-the-court mindset – one that emphasizes slowing players’ internal clock on the court – for UCLA to redefine its season trajectory.

“The Big Ten is quick-moving, so there’s not a whole lot of time to sit in it, but just learn the lessons, and then right away, our focus is on Washington, quick reset,” Duffey said.