Now you see them, now you don’t.
That seems to be the theme of the UCLA women’s volleyball team this season, as the once-ranked No. 3 team in the country goes from dominating one night to dominated the next.
This inconsistency became all too apparent in the Bruins’ matches this past weekend, when they swept Arizona State 30-21, 30-12, 30-27 Friday night, only to get swept by Arizona 30-28, 30-21, 30-28 Saturday night.
Against the No. 24 Wildcats (13-6, 5-6 Pac-10), UCLA (14-7, 7-4) showed very few signs of a team that had cruised to an easy victory just 24 hours earlier.
“Arizona played really well and we just didn’t play the way we needed to in order to beat them,” senior libero Chrissie Zartman said.
The No. 12 Bruins stumbled out of the blocks, falling behind the Wildcats 11-2 in the first game. Despite the early deficit, the team rallied behind Becky Green’s seven kills and four digs to get within one point at 29-28. However, they would get no closer.
The Wildcats wouldn’t allow the Bruins to get any closer in the second game, using a six-point run and Meghan Cumpston’s eight kills to take the game in an even easier fashion.
UCLA appeared to be in good shape to prolong the match in the third game, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. However, the Wildcats were finally able to tie the score at 16-16. From there, both teams exchanged points back-and-forth, but with Arizona leading 29-28, UCLA’s setter Krystal McFarland’s kill attempt was blocked by two Wildcats to cap off the match.
The symptoms of UCLA’s inconsistency have been similar throughout the season. Injuries have forced McFarland and outside hitter Heather Cullen to miss time and now have derailed outside hitter Colby Lyman. The sophomore, who had contributed to the Bruins win over the Sun Devils on Friday, was forced to leave the Arizona match early with an arm injury.
“I’m frustrated with all these injuries that are really contributing to our inconsistency,” coach Andy Banachowski said. “We have not been able to be consistent in anything we’ve been doing.”
With Lyman in the lineup against the Sun Devils (9-10, 4-6), the Bruins had a relatively easy time, despite playing without the services of outside hitter Brittany Ringel. They quickly went up 5-0 in the first game and their defense stifled the Sun Devils into hitting a mediocre .189.
In game two, UCLA’s offense ran wild as they pulled off 13 kills on 22 attacks, while limiting Arizona State to 11 kills and eight errors on 35 attacks and a .086 hitting percentage.
Arizona State regrouped in game three, at one point taking a commanding six-point lead. But mistakes plagued the Sun Devils all evening, as their nine service errors paved the way for UCLA to go on a 17-8 run to close out the match.
The run appeared to give UCLA some much needed momentum and confidence, but not enough to carry over onto Saturday.
“So much of our success has come from the players relying on one another, and people that they’re used to having out there next to them aren’t there,” Banachowski said. “We’re putting up a different lineup all of a sudden.”
Having no control over injuries and the adverse effect they have on the team, all Banachowski can do is hope for healthier days ahead.
“Hopefully we’ll get a couple of people healthy again,” Banachowski said. “Hopefully we’ll get a day or two of rest because that would help a lot.”