COLLEGES / ALAN OTA : UCLA Volleyball Team to Play New-Look Colorado

The UCLA women’s volleyball team will get its first opportunity to play against Colorado’s innovative swing offense when it plays host to the Buffaloes at Pauley Pavilion on Friday.

Coach Andy Banachowski is eager to see how the top-ranked Bruins (23-0) adjust to the Buffaloes’ attack.

The 6 p.m. UCLA/Paul Mitchell Classic match will be followed by No. 11 USC (16-6) playing No. 4 Nebraska (18-2) at 8. On Saturday, USC plays No. 16 Colorado (18-5) at 5 p.m. and UCLA meets Nebraska at 7.

The Colorado offense is based on audibles, much like a wishbone offense in football, and relies on quickness and deception, according to Coach Brad Saindon. Instead of restricting the hitters to certain areas along the net, the swing offense encourages movement, making it difficult for opposing blockers to anticipate where to be in position.

“It takes advantage of a player’s ability to run the floor, their speed and ball-control,” Saindon said. “I believe it’s a superior way to play the game.”

The offense is run by setter Nicole Vranesh, a 5-8 junior from Edison High in Huntington Beach, who was the nation’s assist leader in 1991 and has 984 assists this season.

Saindon characterizes his team’s style as “something like fast-break volleyball,” but realizes it might have its limits against the Bruins.

“It was designed to beat big, static, physical teams,” Saindon said. “But they’re saying the UCLA team may be the best in history.”

Like UCLA, Nebraska has a more traditional offensive scheme, according to Husker Coach Terry Pettit. Nebraska is led by All-American middle-blocker Stephanie Thater, a 6-2 senior, who has 270 kills and a .371 hitting percentage. Last season, Thater established a career-high 31 kills in a four-game loss to UCLA.

Pettit, who has a 3-2 record against the Bruins, appreciates the two-time defending NCAA champion UCLA team for its more conventional approach,

“UCLA’s success is certainly not based on any deception or trickery, but on execution of play,” Pettit said. “And they have the players to do it. If we have a weakness we didn’t know about, it’ll definitely show up after this weekend.”

Earning a first-round bye in the NCAA Division I tournament may be just what the UCLA soccer team needed.

The Bruins, who are the top-seeded team in the West Region, learned on Tuesday that junior midfielder John O’Brien was cleared to practice. O’Brien had missed 10 games with a hairline fracture of the tibia and could have enough practice in the next week to be ready when the Bruins (12-2-3) play on Nov. 22, according to Coach Sigi Schmid.

After UCLA was eliminated in Friday’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation semifinal on penalty kicks after tying Stanford, 1-1, the team had to stay in Seattle until Sunday because of a prearranged flight. The team watched Washington defeat Stanford, 1-0, for the championship.

Notes

The Pepperdine women’s volleyball team (10-13, 6-3 in the West Coast Conference) plays host to Santa Clara (18-9, 10-0) on Friday and San Diego (17-11, 8-4) on Saturday. Both matches are at 7 p.m. Wave Coach Nina Matthies altered the Pepperdine lineup two weeks ago, shifting freshman Tara Kroesch to outside hitter and moving senior Julie Whalen to middle blocker. Junior Rainy Christman and junior Jennifer Meredith are sharing the setting in the revamped offense.

The UCLA men’s and women’s cross-country teams will compete in the NCAA District 8 championships on Saturday at the Randolph Park Golf Course in Tucson. The women’s 5-K race will begin at 9:45 a.m. and the men’s 10-K race will start at 10:30 a.m.

The No. 5 Pepperdine water polo team (15-8) plays host to No. 4 UC Irvine on Saturday at noon. The Waves defeated No. 7 UCLA and No. 6 UC Irvine in road matches last week. Senior goalie Peter Schuler had a career-high 19 blocks in the 8-7 overtime win over UCLA.

The Bruins will play host to No. 8 UC San Diego on Friday at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center at 3 p.m. and No. 3 USC on Saturday at 11 a.m.