The journey was a memorable one for the five seniors on the UCLA women’s volleyball team, but the end result was the same as before.
Having advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals for the fifth time in six seasons, the Bruins, once again, could not get over the hump. This time it was seventh-seeded Washington who ended UCLA’s season, rallying from a two-point deficit midway through the fifth game to defeat the Bruins 27-30, 30-19, 30-28, 24-30, 15-9 in front of their hometown crowd of 4,532 fans in Seattle.
That means UCLA’s seniors – Krystal McFarland, Chrissie Zartman, Brynn Murphy, Brittany Ringel and Heather Cullen – have accomplished almost everything in their Bruin careers except play in the Final Four.
“I told our seniors I’m very proud of the postseason run we made,” UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said.
“Nobody expected us to be here, especially as the No. 15 seed, but our girls didn’t seem to care.”
Of all UCLA’s postseason losses, this one may have been the toughest to swallow.
One night earlier, the 15th-seeded Bruins had recorded the tournament’s biggest upset, defeating No. 2 Penn State in four games 30-24, 22-30, 30-25, 30-28. They looked to be on their way to a Cinderella story the next night against the Huskies, taking an 8-6 lead in the fifth game in a raucous road atmosphere.
But it all came crashing down.
Washington’s Brie Hagerty recorded four of her 23 kills as the Huskies reeled off six consecutive points to seize control of the match for good.
“We just hit a block,” Banachowski said. “We got stuck in their serve and couldn’t come out.”
By splitting the first four games 27-30, 30-19, 30-28, 24-30, UCLA forced the Huskies to a fifth game, something it had failed to do in two previous meetings.
Even that looked like it might not happen at the start of game four.
On the brink of elimination after falling behind 12-3 in the fourth game, the Bruins staged a remarkable comeback to take the lead at 23-18 and eventually won the game 30-24.
“No one does what we did in that fourth game,” Banachowski said. “We gave Washington an amazing run.”
“It was an uphill challenge,” middle blocker Nana Meriwether said. “But our seniors brought us back.”
Yet after tying the match at two games apiece, the Bruins simply ran out of energy in the fifth game and couldn’t sustain the same block that had led them through their great comeback.
Meriwether, who had 10 blocks through the first four games, only had one in the fifth game.
“Everyone was just so emotionally and physically drained,” Banachowski said. “We just had nothing left.”
Ringel and Zartman played exceptional matches, recording 17 kills and 34 digs, respectively.
Zartman and Meriwether were named to the All-Tournament team, but neither could stop the onslaught of the Huskies on Saturday.
“We just couldn’t execute when we needed to,” Meriwether said. “It came down to who wanted it most.”
Senior Sanja Tomasevic led the way for the Huskies, finishing with 24 kills. Only two Bruins finished in double figures in kills – Ringel and sophomore Becky Green, who finished with 14.
Though the loss was disappointing, Banachowski preferred to focus on the efforts of his senior class.
After an injury-plagued season in which the Bruins finished in the middle of the Pac-10 standings despite being touted as a national-title contender in the preseason, Banachowski was pleased that the team found a spark in the postseason.
“I just told the seniors how proud of them I was,” Banachowski said. “They have represented UCLA with the highest class the last four years, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”