The only thing the Cal volleyball team has been able to consistently count on this season has been its inconsistent play.
In this season alone, the Bears have lost in upsets to the likes of UC Davis and Kansas State. Yet, they’ve swept then-No. 16 UCLA and and then-No. 19 Creighton. It’s been the kind of year that has fans scratching their heads.
In Cal’s (10-5, 3-3 Pac-12) latest tilt, they will need to play as consistently as possible to top No. 6 Washington (13-1, 5-1) on Wednesday night in Seattle. It’s not an impossible order, as Cal recently pushed USC, the current top team in the country, to a fifth set in which the Bears were just two points away from victory.
Accomplishing the upset will just depend on which Cal squad shows up.
“It’s a mental thing,” said outside hitter Michelle Neumayr on the team’s inconsistency this season. “It’s obviously easier for us to get pumped up and play against a No. 2 team than it is for Davis. But we’re working on being consistent, and we have to take every team the same way.”
The Bears’ most recent battle with inconsistent play came when the team fell in four sets to Utah on Sunday night. In that match, the Utes’ blockers were able to push the Bears into a season-low hitting percentage of .192 off of 13 blocks.
The Huskies play a similar style of volleyball as the Utes, so if the Bears can learn from the mistakes they made Sunday, they should come into Seattle better prepared. Washington runs a 6-2 offense like that of the Utes, in which two setters are on the court at once. Washington is also a good blocking team, with an average of 2.69 blocks per set, just .13 fewer than Utah.
“We certainly saw the need for having our right-side and left-side blockers help out more when the ball is set to the middle area of the court,” said Cal coach Rich Feller. “If we start going wide, then it’s one-on-one in the middle, and the result against Utah was that their middle blockers had a field day.”
The Bears will need their outside blockers, such as Christina Higgins, to step up in order to stop Washington’s attack. Higgins has recorded .78 blocks per set, the best number for a player who isn’t a middle blocker.
“Our X-factor is Christina and her huge block,” Neumayr said. “Her offense has been awesome as well, but we’ll definitely need her block against Washington.”
Higgins’ play could end up being the key factor as the Cal team tries to get its hitting back on track as well as stop outside hitters such as Krista Vansant, who is averaging 3.85 kills per set for the Huskies.
Doing that is obviously much easier said than done. Earlier this season, the Washington team was ranked No. 1 before a shocking loss to Colorado early in October. Since that loss, the Huskies have dropped only one set in three matches.
For the Bears, overcoming those odds begins in the mind as a mental struggle with their own inconsistency.
Riley McAtee covers volleyball. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @riley_mcatee