VOLLEYBALL : UCLA Women Rally to Beat Hawaii

Life is good at the top for the UCLA women’s volleyball team, which made sure it will be there a little longer by rallying to defeat Hawaii in five sets in the Pacific 10-Big West tournament Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.

The Bruins, solidifying their No. 1 ranking, erased a two-game deficit to beat the No. 2-ranked Rainbows, 12-15, 13-15, 15-12, 15-7, 15-9, before 3,515.

And with only two top-10 teams on their remaining schedule, it’s likely the Bruins will retain their ranking going into next month’s NCAA playoffs.

And as the season progresses, it’s also becoming more apparent that sophomore Natalie Williams is becoming a dominant player.

“She’s destined for the national team,” Bruin Coach Andy Banachowski said.

Williams, a 6-1 sophomore, had 32 kills. Jenny Evans, a 5-10 junior playing on the left side of the court, had 25 and a team-high 31 digs.

“That’s their offense, they have two All-Americans,” Hawaii Coach Dave Shoji said of Williams and Evans. “They’re two super players and it’s hard to stop them.”

It appeared Hawaii (20-4) might prevail, taking the first two games. But Banachowski instructed the team to speed up the tempo of the game and the strategy paid off for the Bruins (23-1), who have won 20 consecutive matches.

Senior setter Holly McPeak, who had 17 digs, was able to quicken the pace in the third game as UCLA opened a 12-6 lead.

The Rainbows were playing for the third night in a row, losing to Cal State Long Beach Thursday and beating USC Friday night.

In Saturday night’s first match, No. 13 Cal State Long Beach defeated unranked USC, 15-8, 15-13, 15-7.

Long Beach, which defeated Hawaii in five games Thursday night, improved to 19-8. The Trojans are 10-11.

Four 49ers were in double figures in kills, outside hitter Antoinnette White leading the way with 16. Outside hitter Christine Romero, who had 10 kills, was outstanding on defense as well, leading both teams with 14 digs.