UCLA Risks Its Unbeaten Record : No. 1 Bruins Play No. 2 Cardinal in Women’s Volleyball

Next month at Minneapolis, two women’s volleyball teams will play in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. championship to determine the country’s best team, a designation top-ranked UCLA has enjoyed the last 9 weeks.

UCLA, the country’s only undefeated team, is 26-0 overall and 16-0 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

But thoughts of a national championship are on hold as UCLA prepares for its final two conference matches this week.

Beginning at 7 tonight, the Bruins will put the Pac-10 championship and their national ranking on the line when they play host to No. 2 Stanford (25-1, 15-1) at Pauley Pavilion. Stanford’s lone loss was to UCLA.

If the Bruins beat Stanford, they will win the Pac-10 title outright and gain an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. If the Bruins lose, they will have one more shot at at least tying for the Pac-10 title against California on Friday. Stanford would have to lose its final match to USC for the Bruins to win it outright.

For Stanford to win the championship, it would need to win its final 2 matches and UCLA would need to lose both.

If UCLA and Stanford tie for the title, the automatic playoff bid will be determined by a statistical comparison. There is little doubt, however, that the co-champion would be given an at-large bid. The most at stake is the home-court advantage for the playoffs.

“(Playing) Stanford is a lot of pressure,” said Daiva Tomkus, the Bruin’s middle blocker who leads the Pac-10 in hitting percentage and aces average a game. “The first time we met them, neither of us knew what to expect.

“We played a hard game and we had a vengeance against them, because we hadn’t won a game against them in their gym since 1983. But they have a lot of good players and they know what to expect now, and they will try to knock us out of our No. 1 ranking.”

UCLA beat Stanford in straight games, 15-7, 15-3, 15-9. That was in September, though, and Stanford hasn’t lost a match since, racking up 20 straight victories. Combined, the teams have played the last 46 matches without a loss.

Before the season began, UCLA and Stanford were the conference co-favorites but Illinois and Hawaii were the country’s 1 and 2 teams, respectively.

Both Stanford and UCLA were lacking experience, and, though each coach boasted a strong freshman class, they also expected it would take some time to solidify the lineups.

But early-season victories by the Bruins over Hawaii, the defending national champion, and Illinois changed a few votes.

“Hawaii made me believe,” UCLA Coach Andy Banachowski said. “We were ahead, 14-12, in the first game and lost. I was worried that would destroy us. But we came back and won the next 3 games.

“I had thought other teams would gang up to stop Daiva, but the rest of the players are doing so well, that they can’t key on her. The freshmen have also made a difference. They are good athletes, not just volleyball players. They also came from winning programs so they expect success.”

Besides Tomkus, a junior, the Bruins’ starting lineup includes freshmen, middle blocker Elaine Youngs and outside hitter Jenny Evans. Sophomore Samantha Shaver and junior Jenny Crocker, both outside hitters, and setter Ann Boyer complete the lineup.

Boyer, a 2-time All-American and the only senior, says this has been her most enjoyable season.

“There hasn’t been any pressure so far, but we are so far along right now,” she said. “Our biggest worry is that we won’t take a team seriously, but we are definitely trying not to do that. Instead, we look at every team like they want to beat us badly, and take one game at a time.”

UCLA has won 17 of its matches in straight games, 7 matches in 4 games, and has only been taken to 5 games by 2 teams.

At first, Stanford struggled a little, but Coach Don Shaw credits the team’s success to the off-season development of returning players Amy Hayes, Jennifer Chaffee, Lara Asper and team captain Laura Olesen, and the rapid progress of freshmen Amy Cooper and Kristin Klein.