The UCLA Bruins evened the season score with PAC-12 Conference rival Washington Huskies by matching the Huskies’ 3-0 sweep in on Washington’s court in mid-September. In recent history, the Bruins have had great difficulty on Washington’s home court. The movie could be called “Winless in Seattle”, as the Bruins have suffered nine consecutive losses in the great northwest. In the 2011 season, the Bruins are undefeated on their home court.
The Huskies were clearly “in it to win it” and as the set scores indicate, 28-26, 25-13, 28-26, only the second set was dominated by UCLA. The first and third sets came down to consistency of effort. UCLA had three players with double-digit kills and a team total of 11 errors. Washington had two players with double-digit kills and 13 errors. Interesting that Washington’s kill leader, Bianca Rowland (14 kills) committed no errors and teammate Krista Vansant had 12 kills and 5 errors. UCLA was lead by Rachel Kidder (19 kills – 4 errors), followed by Tabi Love (12 kills – 3 errors) and Zoe Nightingale (10 kills-1 errors).
The Bruins record of 21-3, 14-2 in the PAC-12 , ties them with cross-town rival USC for the PAC-12 lead. Washington, 18-5, 10-5 in the PAC-12, will face USC next.. The Bruins next opponent will be Washington State – a team the Bruins swept 3-0 in Pullman, Washington.
The Bruins were ranked #1 in the American Volleyball Coaches (AVCA) poll and #9 by the Rating Performance Index (RPI). The Huskies were ranked #10 by the AVCA but only #30 by the RPI. Fortunately volleyball championships are determined tournament play. The polls main function is to keep the higher-ranked teams separated during the early rounds of tournament competition.
Photographs related this match may be viewed at whatitlooklike.shutterfly.com.
