Road trip includes both best and worst of Pac-10

Besides being from the same state, the Washington and Washington State women’s volleyball teams do not have much in common.

As No. 7 UCLA gets set to face the Pacific Northwest teams, the Bruins are prepared to see two squads on opposite ends of the Pac-10 spectrum.

UCLA (15-3, 5-2 Pac-10) will play No. 5 Washington (17-1, 6-1) on Thursday night. Until last week, the Huskies, who sit atop the Pac-10 standings, were undefeated.

Washington State (9-12, 0-7), on the other hand, is in last place in the Pac-10. After starting the preseason 9-2, the Cougars have yet to win a match against a Pac-10 opponent. However, UCLA will be taking a serious approach to the Washington State match.

“Every opponent in the Pac-10 is a good opponent, so we are going to take it like any other game,” said junior opposite/outside hitter Kaitlin Sather. “We have to take care of business on our side.”

Last week, Washington lost to California and then had an impressive win over then-undefeated Stanford. Additionally, the Huskies’ senior outside hitter Christal Morrison was named Pac-10 Player of the Week. According to coach Andy Banachowski, UCLA realizes that the Huskies may have momentum shifted their way.

“I think they certainly are feeling pretty good after getting that win over Stanford,” Banachowski said.

As far as offense goes, Washington is ranked first out of Pac-10 opponents in hitting percentage, with .314. They rely heavily on Morrison and senior outside hitter Stevie Mussie. The Huskies’ redshirt freshman outside hitter Becky Perry rounds out Washington’s top three hitters.

“They are a tremendously strong attacking team,” Banachowski said. “We are going to have to try to be our best with our defense, with both digging and blocking.”

The Bruins plan to put up a solid block against Washington. If they are unable to stop the Huskies at the net, then they want to at least be capable of deflecting the attack or making them hit a different shot.

“We are playing in the Pac-10, so we have experience with great hitters every weekend,” Sather said. “So this may be another game, but hopefully, we will have a good blocking night.”

UCLA faces Washington State on Friday night. The Cougars are led by senior opposite hitter Adetokunbo Faleti, who is averaging 3.72 kills per game. UCLA holds a 35-7 all-time record over Washington State and has not lost to the Cougars since the 2002 season.

After Friday’s loss to Oregon State, the Bruins want to rebound and put a good effort into this road trip.

“We lost last weekend, so I really hope that we come together this weekend regardless of wins or losses,” Sather said. “I think that as long as we come together as a team then the rest will just take care of itself.”

BRUINS ON TV: Tonight’s game will be televised on a tape delay by Fox Sports Net on Oct. 20. It is the first of three games that will be televised.

The Bruins’ game against Stanford at Pauley Pavilion will also be aired by Fox Sports Net and the rematch between UCLA and USC will be shown by the station as well. Both games will be shown on a tape delay.

The Bruins claimed a 3-1 victory over the Trojans on Oct. 5. They travel to face USC on Nov. 2.