Click here to see a DBTV FEATURE VIDEO about this game. Down 2-0 to the No. 4 Washington Huskies, the UCLA women’s volleyball team was all but dead. The Bruins were being outhustled, outworked and outplayed as they headed to the locker room between games. That’s something that coach Andy Banachowski wasn’t going to allow to continue. “I told the team that they weren’t playing the way they were capable of,” Banachowski said. “Is this what they wanted to let the fans see?” In storybook fashion, a rejuvenated Bruin squad came out of the locker room, got the crowd back into the match with a dominating third game, and held off furious Husky rallies in games 4 and 5 to cap a thrilling 28-30, 23-30, 30-21, 31-29, 15-13 victory. In the end, it was not a bad way to start off the home season. “This (match) was something we’ve been looking forward to since the beginning of August,” senior outside hitter Katie Carter said. “Every day that we practice, every long road trip we take, we’re all still thinking about that first home game in the back of our minds because that’s what we’re trying to get better for, to play for (the fans).” With the win over the Huskies (12-2, 2-1 Pac-10), the No. 3 Bruins (16-0, 3-0) extended their winning streak to 16 games to begin the season. But the match was by far the toughest challenge for the Bruins in the early season. Coming into this match, UCLA had only dropped two games in the entire season. Not only did the Bruins have to come back from a 2-0 deficit against Washington, but they had to stave off points in the last two games in instances where it looked liked the Huskies were about to take the momentum. A 29-21 lead is virtually insurmountable in women’s college volleyball, yet the Bruins let the Huskies come back from that deficit in the fourth game. Washington rallied off eight straight points to tie the game at 29-29 and edge two points away from winning the match. But the Bruins finally won a point on junior Rachell Johnson’s kill, and Ali Daley, who had a very rough overall night, made amends by putting Game 4 away with a kill. “There’s no excuse for us giving up eight points like that,” Banachowski said. “You think its just a matter of time before the law of averages has to work in your favor. I think we might have relaxed and already moved on to the fifth game, which was a huge mistake.” Carter, who led the team with 23 kills for the match, opened up Game 5 with a driving kill and the Bruins opened up a 4-0 lead. But once again, the Huskies closed the gap and were within one point of tying the game at 14-13. But senior middle blocker Nana Meriwether, who played a flawless Game 5, finally closed the door on the Husky rally and the Bruins celebrated. “A big relief,” Meriwether said of her emotions after the match ended. “They’re a very good comeback team and we were all really stressed out on the bench. We realized, we gotta just put this away.” And for the second time in as many years, the Bruins did just that against the defending national champion Huskies, creating yet another memory for the ages. “We live for moments like this,” Carter said.

MEHRING STEPS UP: The Bruins were struggling mightily in games one and two to get production out of sophomore hitters Kaitlin Sather and Daley, two very reliable players for the Bruins so far this season. So in Game 3, Banachowski decided to make a change. The coach went with junior Becky Mehring at outside hitter, and Mehring didn’t disappoint in her first home match for the Bruins in two years. “Becky Mehring came in and played a great match for us. Anything we got out of Becky’s swings was going to be good. She really turned it on.” Mehring, whose husband and child were both on hand for her return after a year away from the team, finished the match with eight big kills in the final three games. “She was someone who took the edge off really well (after the first two games),” Carter said. “She came in and was just so relaxed.”

UP NEXT: The Bruins look to keep their undefeated record alive tonight against Washington State (12-5, 0-3). The Cougars lost 3-1 to USC on Thursday night. The match takes place at 7 p.m. in Pauley Pavilion.