Chances are slim against the Cardinal

Friday, October 31, 1997

Friday, October 31, 1997

Chances are slim against the Cardinal

VOLLEYBALL: Bruins' cheeks reddened in last match vs. No. 2 team

By Jennifer Kollenborn

Daily Bruin Staff

Recently, the women's volleyball team (7-4 in the Pac-10, 9-9 overall) slipped out of the American Volleyball Coaches' Association's top-25 poll. Looking to jump back into contention for the NCAA tournament this weekend, the Bruins travel to Palo Alto to contest No. 2 Stanford, and then to Berkeley to play unranked UC Berkeley.

"We need to get into the play-offs, and that means we need to be able to count on some other players besides Kara (Milling) to get the points we need to win," UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski said.

Last time UCLA hosted the Bay Area teams, it came up with one hand empty. On Oct. 5, the Cardinal swept the Bruins, 15-10, 15-6, 15-10, in Pauley Pavilion, embarrassing the Bruins in both offensive and defensive play.

Stanford outblocked UCLA 12-3 and held the Bruins to their lowest hitting percentage of the season (.010). The Cardinal, meanwhile, hit .198, as setter Lisa Sharpley provided 29 assists and added 13 digs en route to Pac-10 Player of the Week honors. Only two players from both teams reached double figures in the match, with UCLA's senior captain Milling and the Cardinal's Kerri Walsh leading their teams with 10 kills each.

The Bruins managed to prevail against Cal in their last meeting on Oct. 3, 3-2 , in five tight matches (14-16, 15-10, 16-18, 15-13, 15-11) in a three-hour Fox Sports West televised match. Fueled by Milling's 34-kill, 20-dig performance, the Bruins outlasted the Bears, with support from Lym Embree, Tanisha Larkin, Chaska Potter and Kim Coleman. Embree posted career highs with 18 kills and 14 digs; Larkin finished with an outstanding attack percentage of .436. Potter added 16 kills and 12 digs; and Coleman posted 81 assists, which is the fourth highest in school history.

After UCLA's early October split, the Bruins have dropped four Pac-10 matches, including losses to No. 8 USC, No. 10 Washington State, and No. 17 Washington. If UCLA prevails against powerhouse Stanford, the Bruins most likely will be vaulted into the AVCA top-25 poll once again. However, the chances are slim.

Stanford (12-0 in the Pac 10, 20-2 overall), is the top team in the Pac-10, only losing two matches this season to Penn State. Since the early losses, the Cardinal has won 15 straight matches and 16 straight conference matches with its senior class holding a 55-1 record. The Cardinal is currently hitting at a clip of .312, the third-best percentage of all time.

Leading Stanford is No. 9 Walsh and No. 24 Kristin Folkl. Walsh is hitting .356 with 155 total kills and 157 digs, and averages 1.37 blocks per game; while Folkl holds the Pac-10 career record in kills with 1,598. (UCLA's Kara Milling ranks No. 2 with 1,471.) Folkl also leads the Cardinal in kills at 370.

According to Stanford head coach Don Shaw, UCLA only stands a chance against the Cardinal if the Bruins' blocking is strong.

"UCLA has a pretty good blocking team," Shaw said. "(It) didn't block too many against us and made too many unforced errors. They are a strong blocking team and can dominate the net, but right now, UCLA has their back pinned up against the wall with their low record (7-4, 9-9)."