Post by bigfan on Nov 20, 2006 12:59:08 GMT -5
UCLA drops Women of Troy once again
Alex Lebow
The Women of Troy likely lost any chance for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament after the loss to UCLA. Stanford, Washington, UCLA, Oregon, California and USC will likely comprise the Pac-10 delegation to the tournament, expected to be the highest number of invitations of any conference.
With 23 wins on the season, the No. 4 USC women's volleyball team hoped to duplicate its performance from last week's 3-0 victory over No. 3 Stanford Friday against No. 6 UCLA. Instead, USC (23-4, 12-4 Pacific-10 Conference) failed to find a rhythm in its offensive efforts and fell to the Bruins (26-3, 13-3) at Pauley Pavilion in three frustrating games (30-25, 30-22, 30-20).
"We need to come back and play at the same level that we were playing in Stanford," senior libero Debora Seilhamer said. "That's us playing, and this wasn't us playing tonight."
The same Stanford team that USC upset has defeated this same Bruins team twice in 2006.
"UCLA expected us to come out here and stick the ball like we did against Stanford," USC coach Mick Haley said. "We were tough against Stanford, we were in a nice groove, we did a great job and we executed, but Stanford's over and that's what I keep telling (the team)."
Substandard passing and blocking were two reasons why USC fell, 3-0, for just the second time this season. Junior opposite hitter Asia Kaczor contributed a game-high 18 kills, but the Women of Troy struggled with a .139 hitting percentage on the night. The Bruins utilized a 9-1 run to win game one and continued to pressure the Women of Troy throughout games two and three.
"The blocking sort of went down, but I play defense so I don't want to blame it on blocking since it's the hardest part of the game," Seilhamer said. "UCLA broke down and we broke down a little bit in the back row, but our offense wasn't at the top tonight."
Another loss in the nation's most competitive conference drops the Women of Troy into fourth place in the Pac-10.
"I just thought we gave up, and I'm very disappointed," Haley said. "The upside is that since this is a very hard conference, mental toughness is extremely important to taking on these challenges. We're young and we're frustrated, but if we're going to whine or lay down, then it's over." [/b]
The Women of Troy likely lost any chance for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament after the loss to UCLA. Stanford, Washington, UCLA, Oregon, California and USC will likely comprise the Pac-10 delegation to the tournament, expected to be the highest number of invitations of any conference.
After 11 consecutive wins against UCLA, the Women of Troy have lost two consecutive matches in a single season to the Bruins for the first time since 1999. Friday's match drew a rowdy crowd of 4,739 to Pauley Pavilion in Westwood. The Bruins and Women of Troy welcome Oregon and Oregon State to their respective Los Angeles venues for Thanksgiving in next weekend's regular-season finales. USC practiced Sunday and will be sure to put in the extra effort this week in preparation for two teams they defeated on the road in mid-September.
"We're running out of time, so they have two matches next week after lots of practice," Haley said. "We need to check our fuel tank and our resolve and get back in the gym."
Alex Lebow
The Women of Troy likely lost any chance for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament after the loss to UCLA. Stanford, Washington, UCLA, Oregon, California and USC will likely comprise the Pac-10 delegation to the tournament, expected to be the highest number of invitations of any conference.
With 23 wins on the season, the No. 4 USC women's volleyball team hoped to duplicate its performance from last week's 3-0 victory over No. 3 Stanford Friday against No. 6 UCLA. Instead, USC (23-4, 12-4 Pacific-10 Conference) failed to find a rhythm in its offensive efforts and fell to the Bruins (26-3, 13-3) at Pauley Pavilion in three frustrating games (30-25, 30-22, 30-20).
"We need to come back and play at the same level that we were playing in Stanford," senior libero Debora Seilhamer said. "That's us playing, and this wasn't us playing tonight."
The same Stanford team that USC upset has defeated this same Bruins team twice in 2006.
"UCLA expected us to come out here and stick the ball like we did against Stanford," USC coach Mick Haley said. "We were tough against Stanford, we were in a nice groove, we did a great job and we executed, but Stanford's over and that's what I keep telling (the team)."
Substandard passing and blocking were two reasons why USC fell, 3-0, for just the second time this season. Junior opposite hitter Asia Kaczor contributed a game-high 18 kills, but the Women of Troy struggled with a .139 hitting percentage on the night. The Bruins utilized a 9-1 run to win game one and continued to pressure the Women of Troy throughout games two and three.
"The blocking sort of went down, but I play defense so I don't want to blame it on blocking since it's the hardest part of the game," Seilhamer said. "UCLA broke down and we broke down a little bit in the back row, but our offense wasn't at the top tonight."
Another loss in the nation's most competitive conference drops the Women of Troy into fourth place in the Pac-10.
"I just thought we gave up, and I'm very disappointed," Haley said. "The upside is that since this is a very hard conference, mental toughness is extremely important to taking on these challenges. We're young and we're frustrated, but if we're going to whine or lay down, then it's over." [/b]
The Women of Troy likely lost any chance for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament after the loss to UCLA. Stanford, Washington, UCLA, Oregon, California and USC will likely comprise the Pac-10 delegation to the tournament, expected to be the highest number of invitations of any conference.
After 11 consecutive wins against UCLA, the Women of Troy have lost two consecutive matches in a single season to the Bruins for the first time since 1999. Friday's match drew a rowdy crowd of 4,739 to Pauley Pavilion in Westwood. The Bruins and Women of Troy welcome Oregon and Oregon State to their respective Los Angeles venues for Thanksgiving in next weekend's regular-season finales. USC practiced Sunday and will be sure to put in the extra effort this week in preparation for two teams they defeated on the road in mid-September.
"We're running out of time, so they have two matches next week after lots of practice," Haley said. "We need to check our fuel tank and our resolve and get back in the gym."