Post by jgrout on Sept 27, 2007 8:43:34 GMT -5
www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=26163
Top-Ten Clash Pits Feller Against Long-Time Foe
Head Coach Guided Bears to Only Win Over Banachowski’s Bruins in 51 Tries
BY Jeff Goodman
Contributing Writer
Thursday, September 27, 2007
In the early 1980s, Cal volleyball coach Rich Feller and UCLA coach Andy Banachowski occasionally met over burgers and drinks.
But tonight at Haas Pavilion, where the No. 10 Bears host the No. 5 Bruins, the two Pac-10 coaches will have a lot more on their plates.
Feller’s squad does not have history on its side, having defeated UCLA (12-1, 2-0 in the Pac-10) only once in program history. But the Bears, who have risen to national prominence under Feller, seem especially motivated after their loss to No. 2 Stanford on Friday.
Banachowski’s Bruins, on the other hand, will be facing a ranked opponent on their first road trip of the season.
“I can think back five or six years ago when we were looking at (UCLA and USC) coming in and hoping we could get some points up, hoping we could luck out and win a game, and it’s all different now,” Feller said. “We’re looking at teams coming in here having to prepare for two very, very good teams in Cal and Stanford as opposed to in the past just preparing for one good team and sort of walking over the other.”
Before Feller began coaching the Bears (10-2, 0-1), he served as the top assistant coach at Pacific from 1980 to 1983. It was during that span that Feller crossed paths with Banachowski—each time the Tigers faced UCLA.
While Banachowski has been coaching the Bruins for 41 seasons, Feller took the reigns at Cal in 1999. Since then, they have built a relationship that makes the schools’ rivalry even more special than it already is.
“We’re very good friends,” Feller said. “He’s one of the guys I really like in the game of volleyball. We talk all the time when we see each other at junior tournaments recruiting, at conventions—we’re always chatting with each other. We get along very, very well. We share family stories and volleyball stories at the same time.”
Perhaps the memory that stays with Feller the most is of the home match against UCLA in 2005, when the Bears ousted the Bruins for the first time.
Cal outside hitter Angie Pressey, who clinched the historic upset with one of her 19 kills, said she thinks the recent loss to Stanford has the entire team fired up for UCLA.
“It just left us wanting more,” Pressey said. “Wanting to get back out there and show that we can knock off the top teams because we’re playing really well right now.”
The Bruins, behind junior Ali Daley and senior Rachell Johnson, are also playing well, rolling over Arizona and Arizona State in their first weekend of conference play. In a sweep of the Sun Devils, Daley recorded 15 kills and Johnson posted 14 kills and 11 blocks.
Feller said UCLA, with a roster of 17 players, also has more depth and can consistently rely on its bench.
“There has been a lot of tradition of beating Cal,” he said. “We think it’s gonna be a pretty big battle.”
Contact Jeff Goodman at jgoodman@dailycal.org.
www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2007/sep/27/womens_volleyball_critical_matchups/
Women’s volleyball faces critical matchups this week
Bruins’ standings to be heavily influenced by results against top-10 Cal and Stanford
* Stephanie Lowe (Contact)
* Published: Thursday, September 27, 2007
While UCLA students gear up for their first days of class this week, the women’s volleyball team will be leaving Westwood and flying to the Bay Area.
The Bruins have a competitive week ahead of them, as they face No. 10 California on Thursday and No. 2 Stanford on Friday.
The results from this week’s matchups will have a significant impact on the Pac-10 standings and will set the tone for the beginning of conference play.
If the Bruins are able to get past the hurdle of beating two top-10 teams, they will remain in the upper half of the standings.
The Golden Bears are a team that has been on the rise for the past couple of years. This season, the Bears’ go-to players are senior outside hitter Angie Pressey and sophomore outside hitter Hana Cutura. Pressey and Cutura lead their team offensively in kills.
“Just from watching them, they are playing very, very well right now,” UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said. “Their hitting is very strong, stronger than it’s ever been.”
Banachowski also noted that Cal, as well as Stanford, has a number of tough jump servers. This week in practice, the Bruins have been working on their serve reception in order to prepare for the fast and tough serves they are bound to face in the upcoming days.
After Thursday night’s game against the Bears, the Bruins are scheduled to head over to Palo Alto to face Stanford.
The Cardinal are the team to beat this season as Stanford is the defending Pac-10 champion and currently undefeated.
The Cardinal are also led by a pair of outside hitters in junior Cynthia Barboza and freshman Alix Klineman. The Bruins will see plenty of activity from both Barboza and Klineman, who are still considered offensive weapons when they are hitting from the back row.
“Barboza and Klineman are two of the premier outside hitters and they are very complete players,” Banachowski said.
“We have to just try and limit them. They set a lot of back row balls and make sure that those attackers are available all of the time. We are just hoping to play good defense.”
One of the keys to slowing down the Cardinal is solid blocking. The Bruins have spent time during practice focusing on putting up a strong block.
Senior middle blocker Rachell Johnson, who leads the team in blocks per game, will help the Bruins accomplish their goal.
“We have been working on serve receive and putting up blockers on the outside hitters,” junior setter Nellie Spicer said.
In a conference where any team can beat the other, away games can be especially challenging matches. But the Bruins still see a fair number of UCLA fans in the crowd when they play in the Bay Area.
Junior outside hitters Ali Daley and Kaitlin Sather, as well as sophomore defensive specialist Diana Douglas, all come from Northern California. This trip gives them the chance to play in front of family and friends.
“We always get a crowd of UCLA fans who make the trip north to watch us play,” Spicer said.
Top-Ten Clash Pits Feller Against Long-Time Foe
Head Coach Guided Bears to Only Win Over Banachowski’s Bruins in 51 Tries
BY Jeff Goodman
Contributing Writer
Thursday, September 27, 2007
In the early 1980s, Cal volleyball coach Rich Feller and UCLA coach Andy Banachowski occasionally met over burgers and drinks.
But tonight at Haas Pavilion, where the No. 10 Bears host the No. 5 Bruins, the two Pac-10 coaches will have a lot more on their plates.
Feller’s squad does not have history on its side, having defeated UCLA (12-1, 2-0 in the Pac-10) only once in program history. But the Bears, who have risen to national prominence under Feller, seem especially motivated after their loss to No. 2 Stanford on Friday.
Banachowski’s Bruins, on the other hand, will be facing a ranked opponent on their first road trip of the season.
“I can think back five or six years ago when we were looking at (UCLA and USC) coming in and hoping we could get some points up, hoping we could luck out and win a game, and it’s all different now,” Feller said. “We’re looking at teams coming in here having to prepare for two very, very good teams in Cal and Stanford as opposed to in the past just preparing for one good team and sort of walking over the other.”
Before Feller began coaching the Bears (10-2, 0-1), he served as the top assistant coach at Pacific from 1980 to 1983. It was during that span that Feller crossed paths with Banachowski—each time the Tigers faced UCLA.
While Banachowski has been coaching the Bruins for 41 seasons, Feller took the reigns at Cal in 1999. Since then, they have built a relationship that makes the schools’ rivalry even more special than it already is.
“We’re very good friends,” Feller said. “He’s one of the guys I really like in the game of volleyball. We talk all the time when we see each other at junior tournaments recruiting, at conventions—we’re always chatting with each other. We get along very, very well. We share family stories and volleyball stories at the same time.”
Perhaps the memory that stays with Feller the most is of the home match against UCLA in 2005, when the Bears ousted the Bruins for the first time.
Cal outside hitter Angie Pressey, who clinched the historic upset with one of her 19 kills, said she thinks the recent loss to Stanford has the entire team fired up for UCLA.
“It just left us wanting more,” Pressey said. “Wanting to get back out there and show that we can knock off the top teams because we’re playing really well right now.”
The Bruins, behind junior Ali Daley and senior Rachell Johnson, are also playing well, rolling over Arizona and Arizona State in their first weekend of conference play. In a sweep of the Sun Devils, Daley recorded 15 kills and Johnson posted 14 kills and 11 blocks.
Feller said UCLA, with a roster of 17 players, also has more depth and can consistently rely on its bench.
“There has been a lot of tradition of beating Cal,” he said. “We think it’s gonna be a pretty big battle.”
Contact Jeff Goodman at jgoodman@dailycal.org.
www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2007/sep/27/womens_volleyball_critical_matchups/
Women’s volleyball faces critical matchups this week
Bruins’ standings to be heavily influenced by results against top-10 Cal and Stanford
* Stephanie Lowe (Contact)
* Published: Thursday, September 27, 2007
While UCLA students gear up for their first days of class this week, the women’s volleyball team will be leaving Westwood and flying to the Bay Area.
The Bruins have a competitive week ahead of them, as they face No. 10 California on Thursday and No. 2 Stanford on Friday.
The results from this week’s matchups will have a significant impact on the Pac-10 standings and will set the tone for the beginning of conference play.
If the Bruins are able to get past the hurdle of beating two top-10 teams, they will remain in the upper half of the standings.
The Golden Bears are a team that has been on the rise for the past couple of years. This season, the Bears’ go-to players are senior outside hitter Angie Pressey and sophomore outside hitter Hana Cutura. Pressey and Cutura lead their team offensively in kills.
“Just from watching them, they are playing very, very well right now,” UCLA coach Andy Banachowski said. “Their hitting is very strong, stronger than it’s ever been.”
Banachowski also noted that Cal, as well as Stanford, has a number of tough jump servers. This week in practice, the Bruins have been working on their serve reception in order to prepare for the fast and tough serves they are bound to face in the upcoming days.
After Thursday night’s game against the Bears, the Bruins are scheduled to head over to Palo Alto to face Stanford.
The Cardinal are the team to beat this season as Stanford is the defending Pac-10 champion and currently undefeated.
The Cardinal are also led by a pair of outside hitters in junior Cynthia Barboza and freshman Alix Klineman. The Bruins will see plenty of activity from both Barboza and Klineman, who are still considered offensive weapons when they are hitting from the back row.
“Barboza and Klineman are two of the premier outside hitters and they are very complete players,” Banachowski said.
“We have to just try and limit them. They set a lot of back row balls and make sure that those attackers are available all of the time. We are just hoping to play good defense.”
One of the keys to slowing down the Cardinal is solid blocking. The Bruins have spent time during practice focusing on putting up a strong block.
Senior middle blocker Rachell Johnson, who leads the team in blocks per game, will help the Bruins accomplish their goal.
“We have been working on serve receive and putting up blockers on the outside hitters,” junior setter Nellie Spicer said.
In a conference where any team can beat the other, away games can be especially challenging matches. But the Bruins still see a fair number of UCLA fans in the crowd when they play in the Bay Area.
Junior outside hitters Ali Daley and Kaitlin Sather, as well as sophomore defensive specialist Diana Douglas, all come from Northern California. This trip gives them the chance to play in front of family and friends.
“We always get a crowd of UCLA fans who make the trip north to watch us play,” Spicer said.
